American Banker articles from October 2001

American Banker archives from October 2001

Growth Spurt Presses Wamu Into Management Development?(Washington Mutual Inc., the Seattle thrift company, will build new center to identify and develop future leaders)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Washington Mutual Inc., the Seattle thrift company whose drive to finance homebuyers has made it the largest mortgage originator in the United States, is building its own home away from home. This month the company will break ground on a...

Basel Effort Gets Cool Reception.(compliance with the complex plan is seen as costly and as handing less-regulated rivals a competitive advantage)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... International bank regulators unveiled compromises Friday on two key pieces of coming capital rules -- operational risk and market disclosures -- but the industry's initial reaction suggests that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision may...

Many Banks Are Losing Taste for Off-Site ATMs.(Bank One Corp. leads the way in reducing the number of machines)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Back in 1997, when banks started getting giddy over surcharge income from automated teller machines, Bank One Corp. made a bold declaration of manifest destiny: Within five years, it said, it would increase its ATM network tenfold, to 20,000...

A Measure of Trust After Wal-Mart/TD.(Community banks with branches in WalMart stores are concerned about their status after the agreement between Wal-Mart and Toronto-Dominion Bank)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Before Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced its U.S. banking agreement with Toronto-Dominion Bank three weeks ago, the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant sent a form letter to all its in-store community banks pledging to fulfill contractual obligations...

In Focus: Sen. Leahy Takes Lead In Money Laundering: His draft tones down anti-terrorism ideas from Justice's bill.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Though support for a government bailout to help the insurance industry cope with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was fading last week, lawmakers have lost none of their enthusiasm for enacting a law to target money laundering. No fewer than...

Today's News.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... WASHINGTON Sen. Phil Gramm is taking heat in the news media for his opposition to anti-money-laundering laws. Page 4 COMMUNITY BANKING Wal-Mart's U.S. banking deal with Toronto-Dominion is worrying some banks with in-store...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... NEW ENGLAND TA Associates Inc., a Boston buyout and private equity firm, has hired A. Bruce Johnson as the managing director in charge of recapitalizations and management-led buyouts of technology companies. Mr. Johnson rejoined the...

Washington People.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Gramm-Bashing Who's to blame for the lack of tougher legislation against money laundering? According to the media the answer is simple: Phil Gramm. A week after The New York Times reported that one U.S. senator had killed a laundering...

In Brief: Banner of Wash. In Oregon Deal.(Acquires Oregon Business Bank)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Banner Corp. is buying two-year-old Oregon Business Bank in Lake Oswego for $10 million in cash. Gary Sirmon, the president and chief executive officer of $2 billion-asset Banner Bank, said the acquisition would strengthen Banner in...

In Brief: Shareholders Back MNB Deal in Kansas.(Acquisition by Landmark Bancshares)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Shareholders of Landmark Bancshares and of MNB Bancshares, in Manhattan, Kan., have approved a plan for Landmark to acquire MNB early in the fourth quarter. Under the deal's terms, announced in April and approved Thursday, shareholders...

In Brief: Maritz: Bank Clients In Dark About Ips.(Investment products are not marketed well)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Banks that sell investment products are still doing a subpar job of letting their customers know about it, a survey report by Maritz Research Inc. asserts. Maritz, which polled 1,005 bank customers, found that 17% were unaware banks sold...

In Brief: Study: IRA Ownership Up Slightly in 2001.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... About 42% of Americans had individual retirement accounts in May, up 1 percentage point from May 2000, the Investment Company Institute said. The trade group's "IRA Ownership in 2001" report, released Friday, also said that as of May, 32%...

In Brief: Wholesaler Pay Up 10% in 2001.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... DGL Consultants' 2000-2001 Sales Compensation Survey & Analysis found that despite the drop-off in the equity markets at the end of 2000, salaries of wholesalers of mutual funds and separate accounts are up 10.6% this year. Its study,...

In Brief: Jaffray Completes Fund Consolidation.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Asset Management Inc. has completed the merger of its First American Funds and Firstar Funds families. The 55 funds had $53 billion of assets under management at midyear and are managed by 50 portfolio managers, 32...

In Brief: Fund Giant Vanguard Offering Term Life.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The Vanguard Group said it is now offering term life insurance online to existing clients. The program is the mutual fund company's first foray into term life insurance. Any Vanguard mutual fund client or member of the immediate family...

In Brief: St. Paul Cos. Closes Sale of F&G Life.(Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The St. Paul Cos. announced Friday that its wholly owned subsidiary, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., has completed the sale of Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Co., a Baltimore life, annuity and structured settlements company, to...

In Brief: Clark/Bardes Sells Some Life-Biz Assets.(to New York Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Clark/Bardes Partners, an executive compensation firm in Barrington, Ill., has sold the ongoing assets of its small and midsize corporate-owned life insurance business to New York Life Insurance Co. Clark/Bardes is keeping its bank-owned...

In Brief: Marsh & McLennan Unit Founds Insurer.(MMC Capital Inc. forms AXIS Specialty Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... MMC Capital Inc., the private equity subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., announced Friday the formation of AXIS Specialty Ltd. AXIS Specialty is an insurance and reinsurance company created to respond to the capacity shortage in the...

Attacks Inspiring Caution In Mortgage-Backed Mart.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The market for commercial mortgage-backed securities has stalled in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, with investors and issuers hesitant to reenter. Insiders and observers say that the market will eventually...

Princeton eCom Expanding into Balance Transfer.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The bill presentment/payment specialist Princeton eCom Corp. has developed the ability to transfer funds from one credit card to another in one to three days, far less time than it normally takes for a consumer to transfer a balance by paper...

EDS Lands Australian Loan Outsourcing Contract.(Electronic Data Systems contract with Westpac)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Electronic Data Systems Ltd., which has been building up its overseas mortgage outsourcing business the last four years, on Friday announced a 10-year, $679 million service deal with Australia's Westpac Banking Corp. The Plano, Tex.,...

In Brief: Insider Trade Charge For Former Citi Exec.(David K. Tomney, Citibank)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged David K. Tomney, a former corporate tax attorney at Citibank, with insider trading in securities of Associates First Capital Corp., which Citibank's parent, Citigroup Inc., bought in December....

In Brief: Pa. Brokerage Buys Berwind Subsidiary.(Boenning and Scattergood acquires Berwind Financial)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The brokerage company Boenning & Scattergood Inc. has acquired Berwind Financial LP, the Philadelphia investment banking unit of Berwind Group. The terms of the transaction, which closed Thursday, were not disclosed. Berwind Financial...

In Brief: Attacks Expected to Hurt Housing Market.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The pace of housing starts will weaken in the fourth quarter as a result of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last month, the National Association of Home Builders has predicted. In a special report on the health of the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The Friday page 1 story "Account Screening A Small-Bank Issue?" misstated the name of Pittsburgh-based Innovative Systems Inc., a developer of regulatory compliance software. Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial. All Rights Reserved....

Post-WTC Problems Cost Bank of New York $125M.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Bank of New York Co. said Friday that the major operational problems it has suffered since the Sept. 11 demolition of the World Trade Center would slash $125 million from its third-quarter profits. The company, founded by Alexander Hamilton...

Banking Companies with Biggest Percent Increase in Per-Share Earnings.(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... (Part 1 of 2) Second-quarter data for publicly traded companies* 2Q 2001 1 Sun Bancorp Inc. Selinsgrove, Pa. ...

Oversight May Come With Aid To Insurers.
October 2, 2001... The insurance industry is learning that federal aid rarely comes without strings attached. As Congress considers how to help insurers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the mountain of claims the catastrophe produced,...

Even Now, Mortgage Stocks Proving a Haven.
October 2, 2001... Though all three major U.S. stock indexes are being mauled this year, many mortgage-related stocks are not only holding rare gains from last year but in many cases grabbing for more. Indeed, while the Nasdaq, the Dow Jones industrial...

PayPal's $81M IPO Filing Strikes Many as Ill-Timed.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 2, 2001... After PayPal's announcement Friday that it had filed to raise $80.5 million in an initial public offering, industry observers could only stop and scratch their heads. Why now? The Palo Alto, Calif., online payment company's decision to go...

Taking the Long View on Venture Units.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 2, 2001... Bank-run venture capital units had stumbled before the terrorist attacks worsened the capital markets' volatility, and the general view on Wall Street now is that more banks will pull back on their venture capital business and that some...

Today's News.
October 2, 2001... WASHINGTON The Supreme Court will hear a case that may determine whether financial services firms can enforce mandatory arbitration clauses. Page 3 The OCC has named the examiner in charge of Citibank as a deputy comptroller for large...

Wells Hiring 350 Execs: Hopes to leverage retail biz to lure wealthy.(Wells Fargo & Co.)(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Wells Fargo & Co. is on a hiring spree that it hopes will bring it more high-net-worth investors in markets where it has retail branches but less of a wealth management presence. The San Francisco banking company intends to hire 350 trust...

Court to Hear Arbitration Case.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... The Supreme Court term that began Monday has no bank-related cases on its docket, but banking attorneys will be watching at least one case, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House Inc. The EEOC is seeking the right to sue...

In Brief: OCC Names Citi Examiner to Deputy Post.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday named Grace E. Dailey a deputy comptroller for large banks. Ms. Dailey, the examiner in charge at Citibank since February 1997, will be one of three deputy comptrollers managing the...

In Brief: Panel to Vote on Retirement Advice Bill.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... The House Education Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill that would shield financial services firms from lawsuits for giving investment advice to their retirement savings plan customers. The measure, which has bipartisan...

In Brief: Treasury Has Sept. 11 Hot Line for Banks.(To report suspicious transactions that may relate to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.)(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... The Treasury Department has established a hot line for financial institutions to report suspicious transactions that may relate to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The hot line, run by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, operates 24...

In Brief: Regulators Set Privacy-Notice Workshop.(A public workshop in December on the privacy notices required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Financial regulatory agencies will sponsor a public workshop in December on the privacy notices required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Eight federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading...

Comment: Don't Put All Authority in One Basket.(Advice for banking institutions)(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... As I addressed the officers and customers of New Jersey's Kearny Federal Savings Bank last month, I was reminded of the days when each branch was almost a complete bank in itself. The mutual savings bank had grown in an unusual way. Its...

People's of Mass. Deal Had Its Foreshadowing.(People's Bancshares Inc. of New Bedford, Mass. was acquired by Firstfed America Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Six months after hiring an investment bank to help it explore "strategic alternatives," People's Bancshares Inc. of New Bedford, Mass., has agreed to sell itself to Firstfed America Bancorp Inc., of Swansea, Mass., for $72 million in cash and...

Study Says Biz Card Issuers Should Market More To Women.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 2, 2001... More general purpose credit card holders are women, and more business credit card holders are men, according to a study whose authors suggest that business-card issuers should consider pitching their products more aggressively to women. ...

Former Competitor Remembers KBW's David Berry as a Class Act.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... To the Editor: We've lost a class act with the too-soon passing of David S. Berry in the World Trade Center disaster. Yes, there were other skillful analysts in the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods research department. Those I admired and knew...

Brokerages Looking Up; Lehman, Merrill Set Pace.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Though shares of broker-dealer companies may have yet to bottom out, some analysts are turning more bullish on the sector. On Monday, Robert P. Napoli, an analyst with ABN Amro Inc., initiated coverage for five brokerage companies and said...

In Brief: Retired Bank One Director Joins Goldman.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Less than six months after retiring as vice chairman and director at Bank One Corp., William P. Boardman has joined Goldman Sachs & Co. as a senior adviser in its financial institutions investment banking group. Mr. Boardman, who had told...

In Brief: Capital Markets Data Show 3Q Decline.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 2, 2001... Thomson Financial Securities Data released its final numbers for third-quarter capital markets, showing declines in most sectors. U.S. equity and equity-related underwriting fell 17.7% during the quarter, to $34.6 billion, Securities Data...

Gramm Says He'd Back a Launder Bill.(Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas))(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... Sen. Phil Gramm, who last year blocked a money-laundering bill proposed by the Clinton administration, said Monday that he would support similar legislation if specific due-process protections are included. Since the Sept. 11 attacks in...

National Smart IDs: Popular, But Unlikely.
October 3, 2001... Though calls for a "smart" national identification card have gotten louder since Sept. 11, executives at companies that make or issue smart cards say they are not getting their hopes up that such a system will be adopted. Despite evidence...

Sterling Plan Points Up Small-Bank Lease Niche.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Interview)
October 3, 2001... As the new senior vice president of Sterling Bancorp's leasing unit, Michael E. Evans is thinking far beyond the business' current New York-New Jersey-Connecticut base. Mr. Evans, who was an executive with Dime Bancorp's leasing division...

The Tech Scene: OFX Standard Shows It's Not Quite Ready for Retirement Yet.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... A technology standard that was supposed to have been superseded long ago got a shot in the arm Tuesday when four major institutions threw their support behind it. Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., E-Trade Group Inc., and TD Waterhouse...

Added Retail Role for CFO At Bank One.(chief financial officer, Charles Scharf appointed chief operating officer of retail banking)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... Bank One Corp. has taken the unusual step of naming its chief financial officer to an additional post -- chief operating officer of retail banking. The Chicago banking company told employees in a memorandum late last week that it had...

TODAY'S NEWS.
October 3, 2001... Abbey National has opened its first U.S. office, but it says it does not plan to compete with big retail banks here. Page 2 WASHINGTON The falling demand for commercial real estate should prompt banks to review their risk management...

Laundering Hearing a Prelude to Data Pool?(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... A House Financial Services Committee hearing today on money laundering could be the first public step toward more extensive information-sharing among financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement agencies -- three often antagonistic...

Abbey National Of U.K. Opens First U.S. Office.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... Abbey National PLC, the sixth-largest banking company in Britain, has cut the ribbon on its first office in the United States. But the company, a leading mortgage lender in the United Kingdom, does not plan to go head-to-head with the big...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... MIDWEST LaSalle Bank, a Chicago subsidiary of ABN Amro North America Inc., has promoted Geoffrey A. Koss and Doug Hart to senior vice president. Mr. Koss was named a senior vice president in the bank's commercial real estate...

Real Estate Prompts FDIC Caution.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a report Tuesday warning banks to review risk management controls and underwriting terms in light of plummeting demand for commercial real estate. Office vacancy rates leapt to 10.8% as of June 30...

In Brief: ABA Elects Officers and Board Members.(American Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... The American Bankers Association has elected its officers and board members for the next 12 months. James E. Smith, chairman of Citizens Union Bank & Trust, Clinton, Mo., was named president. Mr. Smith succeeds Don Mengedoth, chairman of...

In Brief: OCC Weighs In On Payday Lender Case.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency )(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has dealt a blow to a Colorado payday lender's argument that it may ignore state consumer protection laws because of its affiliation with a national bank. In a lawsuit he filed in July, Colorado...

Ala. Kiting Case Grows More Tangled.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... Nearly two years after a group of Alabama banks uncovered a check-kiting scheme in their community, lawsuits pitting Decatur-area banks against one another continue to pile up. In August, $96 million-asset Community Spirit Bank amended a...

Helping Clients Contribute to Disaster Relief.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... Banks, brokerage firms, and trust companies are advising wealthy customers on how to use their charitable portfolios and private foundations to help with Sept. 11 disaster relief. Customers without such charitable-giving mechanisms in place...

In Brief: Aames Financial Posts $30M Loss.(fiscal year ending June 30)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... Aames Financial Corp. on Monday reported a net loss of $30.5 million for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The subprime lender blamed a previously reported $33.6 million writedown from carrying the value of its residual interests...

In Brief: Campbell-Lewis Duo In Agency Start-Up.(formed Campbell Lewis Communications)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... A pair of veteran mortgage and financial services marketing executives have formed Campbell Lewis Communications, American Banker has learned. John Lewis, who recently left his post as chief marketing officer of the online mortgage bond...

In Brief: MICA Issues Stats For Month of Aug.(Mortgage Insurance Companies of American statistics on private mortgage insurance)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America said 164,964 borrowers used private mortgage insurance to buy a home or refinance a loan in August. In dollar volume, newly written primary insurance on conventional mortgage loans was about...

In Brief: Triad Names Crow VP and Controller.(Triad Guaranty Inc.; Michael E. Crow)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... Triad Guaranty Inc. announced Tuesday that it had hired Michael E. Crow as vice president and controller. Mr. Crow will be responsible for all financial reporting, accounting, and reporting compliance, as well as for accounting control. ...

Acorn: Racial Lending Gap Widened in 2000.(in the mortgage loan market)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 3, 2001... Racial and income disparities continue to plague the mortgage market and limit credit access for many borrowers in various income brackets, according to a study released today by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ...

Mortgage Insurers Lobby to Hold Edge.(GE Mortgage Insurance Corp. and United Guaranty Corp. seek to maintain advantage of AAA rating)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... The only two AAA-rated mortgage insurance companies are lobbying hard to maintain a competitive advantage that their rating accords them under the new capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rule allows Fannie and Freddie to hold...

In Brief: U.S. Bancorp Names New Brokerage Chief.(Paul Grangaard named president of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Private Advisory Services)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, said Tuesday that it had reassigned Paul Grangaard, the head of its investment banking business, as the president of its brokerage business, U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Private Advisory Services. Mr. Grangaard,...

In Brief: Small Ohio Banks Plan $15M Merger.(National Bancshares Corp. to acquire Peoples Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... National Bancshares Corp., said Tuesday that it had agreed to buy Peoples Financial Corp. of Massillon, Ohio, for $15.1 million in cash. National has $198 million of assets and is the parent of National Bank of Orville. Peoples is the $106...

Fed Said to Help Banks Weather Uncertainty.(Federal Reserve Board interest rate cut effect on banks)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2001... The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday cut interest rates for the ninth time this year to their lowest level in nearly 40 years in an effort to bolster a waning economy but analysts continue to see short-term problems for many banks. The...

B of A Joins Sun in Fracas Over Microsoft ID System.
October 4, 2001... Bank of America Corp. has become the first financial services company to take sides in an escalating war that Sun Microsystems Inc. is waging against Microsoft Corp. over online privacy and data-sharing. Late last month the banking company...

Regionals' 3Q Intact; Focus Is On Guidance.(profits for banks in post World Trade attacks)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Most of the nation's large regional banks should hit or come close to their third-quarter earnings estimates, but analysts say they are concerned less with the earnings reports' numbers than with what the banks will say in them about the long...

TODAY'S NEWS.(banking services in light of World Trade Center attack)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Loan sales by the largest banks are expected to once again minimize the rise in their nonperforming assets. Page 1 WASHINGTON Federal law overrides some but not all of West Virginia's consumer protection laws, the OCC says. Page 4 ...

House Banking Draws Up Terror Bill.(money laundering legislation)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday endorsed the call for new laws to combat money laundering in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks. "I am not convinced our money laundering laws are adequate to...

Troubled Debt Sales Stayed Active in 3Q.(selling off of bad loans)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... The sale of loans by the country's largest banks should for the second straight quarter minimize a rise in their nonperforming assets. In the second quarter commercial banks sold $1.6 billion of distressed loans, up 56% from the first...

Attacks Yield Issue for M&A Activist.(terrorist attacks in U.S. create issues for merger and acquisition activist Matthew Lee)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Banks that engage in mergers and acquisitions on any significant scale know that a small army of community groups seeking leverage in the regulatory approval process pore over their records in areas ranging from Community Reinvestment Act...

In Brief: OCC Preempts Some W.Va. Banking Laws.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Federal law overrides some, but not all, of West Virginia's consumer protection laws, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ruled in a legal opinion issued last week. The opinion, scheduled to be published Friday in the Federal...

In Brief: Former Rep. Pleads Guilty to Stealing Funds.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... A former Massachusetts congressman and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $200,000 from the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Inspector General's office announced...

Deal Off, Calif. Center Expanding on Its Own.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... California Center Bank, which in June called off a sale to a rival neighborhood bank targeting Korean-Americans, says it has decided not to entertain any new offers. The Los Angeles bank had said in a news release in June that it...

Variable Annuities in Slump, But No Dumping Seen.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Pitching variable annuities to bank customers was no easy trick before the terrorist attacks and has become harder since, but customers are not abandoning the product line. "It was rough before, but now it's worse -- people are scared,"...

Attacks Show Banks Have Come Long Way in Bulletproofing Systems.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... The excellent recovery of information technology systems after the Sept. 11 attacks reminded me of how responsible bankers have been in building disaster recovery plans that really work. In the early 1980s some bankers had developed an...

CRA Element Should Be Part Of Any Insurance Bailout.(Community Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Last week's congressional testimony seeking a federal bailout of the insurance industry is unlikely to succeed as smoothly or swiftly as the industry hopes. Community groups across the nation, defeated by Sen. Phil Gramm in their efforts...

MasterCard International Joins GlobalPlatform Group.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... MasterCard International has joined GlobalPlatform, the consortium formed in 1999 to set standards for multiple-application smart cards. Visa International is a member of GlobalPlatform and holds a seat on the organization's board. All Visa...

Amex Sees Clear-Card Effort Through.(will soon offer clear plastic credit cards)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... For years credit card companies' attempts to develop a see-through credit card, which would have obvious aesthetic appeal to consumers, have been foiled by the inability of some point of sale terminals and automated teller machines to read such...

Lower-Manhattan Reconstruction Aid To Earn CRA Credit.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Some banks doing business in the New York area will receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act credit for helping to revitalize lower Manhattan following the devastating terrorist attacks there, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced...

In Brief: Sterling of Houston Buying Katy, Tex., Bank.(Sterling Bancshares Inc. buys Community Bancshares Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2001... Sterling Bancshares Inc. announced plans Tuesday to acquire Community Bancshares Inc., a $114 million-asset company in neighboring Katy, Tex. The price in the stock-and-cash deal between the privately held companies was not disclosed....