American Banker articles from September 2005

American Banker archives from September 2005

Regulators' Key Role: Stocks hit, failures feared. Deal in jeopardy?
September 1, 2005... Regulators and bankers worked together Wednesday to craft new contingency plans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. John Ducrest, Louisiana's banking commissioner, said he was negotiating with federal regulators to allow banks...

CRM System Cues Tellers To Offer Approved Cards.(Bank of America Corp.)
September 1, 2005... In a pilot program that takes customer relationship management into new territory, some Bank of America Corp. tellers are being automatically prompted to offer and approve credit cards and home equity lines of credit on the spot. A...

Student Loan Subsidy's End On Fast Track.
September 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Profit margins on student loans would be squeezed under legislation speeding through Congress, and commercial banks have little hope of derailing the effort. Subsidies the government pays lenders during periods of low...

A New MasterCard.
September 1, 2005... MasterCard International said its decision to abandon its association structure and pursue a public offering will give it a stronger, more independent base from which to fight its legal battles. Outsiders said the move could also free it up...

In Brief: North Fork in Pact on Anti-Launder Effort.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... North Fork Bancorp. Inc. said Wednesday that it must improve anti-money-laundering systems and procedures under a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the New York State Banking Department. The Melville,...

In Brief: Freddie Net Off 72%; Registration in 2Q.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Freddie Mac's second-quarter profit plummeted 72% from a year earlier, to $769 million, or $1.03 per share. Net interest income fell 46%, to $1.4 billion, the company reported Wednesday. It also said it now expects to register with the SEC...

In Brief: Two Convicted in a Colorado Fraud Case.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A federal court in Denver has found two Florida businessmen guilty on 63 felony counts in a case related to the 1998 failure of BestBank of Boulder, Colo. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Office of Inspector General said Douglas R....

B of A, Following Trend, Picks a New Ad Agency.
September 1, 2005... Like several other large banking companies this year, Bank of America Corp. has decided to switch advertising agencies. The Charlotte company said Wednesday that it is moving from Interpublic Group of Cos. Inc. to Omnicom Group Inc., both...

A Relatively Quiet Comment Period For B of A-MBNA.
September 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Many recent megamergers have attracted plenty of opposition, but fewer than a dozen groups filed objections to Bank of America Corp.'s deal for MBNA Corp. in comment letters with the Federal Reserve Board. The 11-letter total...

In Brief: NCUA, Tex. Credit Unions Settle Case.(National Credit Union Administration)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The National Credit Union Administration has agreed to let two Texas credit unions convert to mutual thrifts in exchange for dropping their legal claims against the regulator. Community Credit Union in Plano and OmniAmerican Credit Union in...

In Brief: New Name, Consolidation for Ga.'s ABC.(ABC Cancorp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... ABC Bancorp, a multibank holding company in Moultrie, Ga., plans to consolidate its 12 banks under a single charter and adopt a new name. The $1.3 billion-asset company said Wednesday that it has hired a marketing firm to help it create the...

One More Time: Seeking 3d Section 404 Extension.
September 1, 2005... Community bankers are keeping their fingers crossed that the Securities and Exchange Commission will give them an extra year to comply with the internal-controls provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In August an advisory committee to the...

Executive Changes.(Leesport Financial Corp.)(Synergy Financial Group Inc.)(Rabobank)
September 1, 2005... MIDDLE ATLANTIC Leesport Financial Corp. of Wyomissing, Pa., has hired Robert D. Davis as the president and chief executive officer and a director of the company and its $896 million-asset Leesport Bank. Mr. Davis has also been named...

Chase Buying Sears Canada Receivables.
September 1, 2005... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Bloomberg News. (c) 2005 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

UMB Units' Merger Heightens Focus on Advice to Wealthy.
September 1, 2005... The head of UMB Financial Corp.'s asset management arm says he hopes to develop assets by breaking down its silo structures and selling advice rather than products to its customers. Joe Gazzoli, who joined UMB from TIAA-CREF in January 2004...

In Brief: Hilb Rogal Agrees to $30M for Client Fund.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co., the nation's eighth-largest insurance and risk management intermediary, said Wednesday that it would set up a $30 million national fund as part of an agreement to resolve the Connecticut attorney general's investigation...

In Brief: Principal Offering Hotline for Beneficiaries.(Principal Financial Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Principal Financial Group announced Wednesday that it will provide a financial services hotline for beneficiaries of group and voluntary term life insurance products. On the hotline beneficiaries can speak to experienced financial...

In Brief: UnumProvident Medical Supplement Plan.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... UnumProvident has started MedSupport, a voluntary insurance product designed to help employers and employees absorb the financial impact of rising medical costs, the company announced. MedSupport, the latest in the company's range of...

In Brief: Variable Annuity Assets Up 2.7% in 2Q.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The National Association for Variable Annuities has announced that net assets in U.S. variable annuities rose 2.7%, to $1.1 trillion, in the second quarter, from the March 31 level. Net assets grew 8.1% from the year earlier total of $1.05...

Bank Holding Companies with Largest Credit Card Loan Portfolios: On March 31, 2005. Dollars in thousands.
September 1, 2005... (Part 1 of 3) 1 Citigroup Inc. New York 2 JPMorgan Chase & Co. New York 3 Bank of America Corp. Charlotte 4 Capital One Financial Corp. McLean, Va. 5 MBNA Corp. Wilmington, Del. ...

In Brief: Growth in Parking Meters Paid by Card.
September 1, 2005... A hundred and fifty Las Vegas parking spots are now cashless, according to Peppercoin Inc., which makes aggregation software allowing a variety of small-value payments to be processed as a single card transaction. Fifteen meters,...

In Brief: KeyCorp Using Panini Check Scanners.(Panini North America)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Panini North America announced Wednesday that KeyCorp of Cleveland is providing its check scanners for use by remote-capture customers of KeyBank's global treasury management group. The Panini My Vision X check scanner reads the check's...

In Brief: Dutch ING Unit Selects Sun Microsystems.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Sun Microsystems Inc. announced that ING Group NV's Postbank unit has begun using an Internet banking infrastructure developed by Sun. Sun, of Santa Clara, Calif., said its N1 Service Provisioning System is designed to be flexible to...

Pipeline.(includes multiple articles)
September 1, 2005... Lingering Effects The devastation of Hurricane Katrina could increase delinquencies throughout the commercial mortgage-backed securities market and could particularly hurt as many as 18 deals with heavy concentrations of properties on the...

Providian Investors OK Deal with Wamu.(Washington Mutual Inc.)
September 1, 2005... Providian Financial Corp. shareholders approved its deal Wednesday to sell itself to Washington Mutual Inc., ending a monthlong public debate on the $6.45 billion deal's merits. Eighty-three percent of the votes cast, or 67% of the shares,...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2005... In the Aug. 31 paper, the page 10 story, "B of A Pessimistic About Industry's Stocks," understated how long Robert Lacoursiere has worked at Banc of America Securities. His hiring was announced not this Aug. 17 but a year earlier. (c) 2005...

PayPal Fee Cut Takes Aim at Micropayments.
September 2, 2005... PayPal Inc. made a move Wednesday that the big card companies have long resisted -- it cut its fixed transaction fees for purchases under $2. "The opportunity for PayPal was to address the micropayments issue, and we went straight at the...

Top Court To Hear Two Big Cases For Industry: Arbitration clauses, jurisdictional issues on the fall docket.
September 2, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Two cases the Supreme Court is slated to hear this fall could have a significant effect on the financial services industry. The first would determine whether national banks can be sued in a state court anywhere they have a...

Small Banks In Fla. Lash Out on BSA.
September 2, 2005... Are federal regulators unfairly targeting south Florida community banks in their crackdown on money laundering? Community bankers there think so, and told regulators as much at a meeting last week in Miami. The purpose of the meeting, which...

GE in Canada: Loans Now, Deposits Later.
September 2, 2005... General Electric Co. is widening its consumer finance menu in Canada with near-prime loans and other products. GE Consumer Finance of Stamford, Conn., entered Canada with private-label credit cards 20 years ago. This year its GE Money...

People.
September 2, 2005... Back in View L.M. "Bud" Baker has kept a low profile since retiring in February 2003 as Wachovia Corp.'s president and chief executive, but this month he will resurface at the helm of another organization. On Sept. 8 will become the...

Security Watch.
September 2, 2005... Washington A new regulator is being called to arms to protect consumer data -- the Federal Communications Commission. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington privacy group, submitted a petition Tuesday urging the FCC to...

High Hurdles Seen For Plaintiffs in Suit On Arbitration Policy.
September 2, 2005... The plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing the leading credit card issuers of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to foist arbitration policies on consumers have a tough, but not impossible, case to prove, legal experts said. Should the...

In Brief: Deal to Merge Pair of Albuquerque Banks.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... First State Bancorp in Albuquerque is buying the $374 million-asset Access Anytime Bancorp, also of Albuquerque, for about $30 million in stock. In addition to building itself in New Mexico, the $2 billion-asset First State would enter Arizona...

In Brief: Hanmi Sets Up in Chicago and D.C. Area.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Hanmi Financial Corp. of Los Angeles announced Thursday that it had opened loan production offices in Chicago and Annandale, Va. They are the Korean-American company's first offices outside the West Coast region. It has 22 branches in...

In Brief: Pennsylvania Banks Set Branch Deal.(First Commonwealth to buy Clearfield Bank and Trust Co.)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... First Commonwealth Financial Corp. of Indiana, Pa., has agreed to sell five full-service branches and a drive-through branch to Clearfield Bank and Trust Co., the lead subsidiary of the $307 million-asset CBT Financial of Pennsylvania. ...

In Brief: Premier of W.Va. Signs Cease-and-Desist.
September 2, 2005... Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. of Huntington, W.Va., announced Thursday that it had agreed to a cease-and-desist order with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with fraud at its Farmers Deposit Bank. The order said that...

Regulators Still Trying to Contact Gulf Coast Banks.
September 2, 2005... Three days after Hurricane Katrina charged the Gulf Coast, regulators had yet to establish contact with some of the 152 banks that operate 1,400 branches in the 49 counties designated as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management...

MetLife Closes CitiStreet Unit Deal.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... MetLife Inc. said Thursday that it had completed its purchase of CitiStreet Associates, a division of CitiStreet LLC that is primarily a distributor of annuities and retirement plans to the education, health-care, and nonprofit markets. ...

Amex Spinoff to Sell Brand to Mass Affluent.
September 2, 2005... Ameriprise, the financial planning firm that will soon be severed from its parent, American Express Co., will look to establish a highly visible brand name and emphasize its service model as it keeps vying for share in the growing mass-affluent...

Bank Holding Companies with Largest Portfolios of Noncard Consumer Loans: On March 31, 2005. Dollars in thousands.
September 2, 2005... (Part 1 of 3) 1 Citigroup Inc. New York 2 JPMorgan Chase & Co. New York 3 Wells Fargo & Co. San Francisco 4 Bank of America Corp. Charlotte 5 Wachovia Corp. Charlotte 6 ...

The Equator Principles: More than Just Good PR.
September 2, 2005... JPMorgan Chase recently made the smart and responsible business decision of subscribing to the World Bank-initiated Equator Principles, committing itself to consider certain environmental and social risk issues in the deals it finances. In...

Honesty the Best Policy in Pitching Overdraft Service.
September 2, 2005... Overdraft volume has doubled in the last decade, bringing with it an influx of highly disputed programs designed to generate noninterest income. A bank's board of directors, C-level executives, and management team often disagree on the...

For Deposit Growth, Improve Branch Sales Practices.
September 2, 2005... For many prospective customers, simply being made to feel a little bit important goes a long way in encouraging their patronage. Often it doesn't take more than a friendly "Hello, may I help you?" to get things off on the right foot. ...

Learning to Laugh All the Way to the Bank: Martin on Retailing.
September 2, 2005... I often like to ask groups if they find it a little odd that the statement "Get to work" is synonymous with "Stop having fun." Think about it. Imagine walking into just about any business setting today and seeing folks laughing. If you...

In Brief: Home Prices Surged 13.4% in 2Q.
September 2, 2005... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Bloomberg News. (c) 2005 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

In Brief: Realtors: Resale Contracts Down.
September 2, 2005... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Bloomberg News. (c) 2005 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Street Skeptical About Freddie Reporting.
September 2, 2005... Freddie Mac remains, and will remain, hard to read, even though it is closer to reporting quarterly reports in a timely manner and plans to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the second quarter, analysts say. This week...

ABN Amro Plans To Outsource IT Work to 5 Vendors.
September 2, 2005... ABN Amro Holding NV expects to cut its annual information technology budget by 10%, or $318 million, by outsourcing much of its technology development and maintenance to International Business Machines Corp. and four other vendors. The...

President of First Data Card Unit Is Leaving.
September 2, 2005... The Denver processor First Data Corp. said Thursday that Jim Schoedinger, the president of its card-issuing services unit, will leave the company today to pursue other interests. Analysts differed on whether his departure might foreshadow...

In Brief: Chairman: H&R Block to Get Bank Charter.
September 2, 2005... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Dow Jones. (c) 2005 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

In Brief: Stocks in Storm's Path Continue Slide.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Stocks of companies in the path of Hurricane Katrina continued to suffer Thursday. Shares of Hancock Holding Co. of Gulfport, Miss., which had fallen 6.9% Wednesday, fell another 5.8% Thursday. Iberia Bank Corp. of Lafayette, La., fell...

In Brief: Popular to Buy Infinity Mortgage of N.J.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Popular Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to purchase almost all the assets of Infinity Mortgage Corp. of Parsippany, N.J. The San Juan, Puerto Rico, banking company did not say how much it paid. The deal, expected to close next...

In Brief: Senate Panel to Consider ID Security.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 13 on data security. The hearing will examine the responsibilities and roles of financial services companies in preventing identity theft and protecting sensitive financial...

In Brief: JPM Chase Names European Group Head.
September 2, 2005... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Dow Jones. (c) 2005 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Katrina Recasts Outlook for Bank Stocks.
September 2, 2005... Analysts are saying Hurricane Katrina's effects on the economy could be enough to halt further increases in short-term interest rates -- at least in the near term. And that could be good for bank stocks. The Federal Open Market...

Hurricane May Trigger Adverse-Effect Provision.
September 2, 2005... The effects of Hurricane Katrina on Hibernia Corp.'s business could trigger the material-adverse-effect clause in the New Orleans company's agreement to sell itself to Capital One Financial Corp., some observers believe. The 6-month-old...

Unexpected Trends Developing In Rollout of Free Credit Reports.
September 6, 2005... Over the last nine months, as the three major credit bureaus have gradually rolled out free annual credit reports across the country as required by law, consumers have surprised them in several ways. Customers have been ordering more of the...

Block Quits Subprime Price Fight: With thrift approval near, envisioning a deposit, IRA play.(H and R Block Inc.)
September 6, 2005... Amid the frenzied competition for subprime mortgages, at least one lender has decided that enough is enough. Last week H&R Block Inc.'s subprime mortgage unit raised its rates by 40 basis points to improve spreads and margins and make its...

Hill Agenda: What Makes The Cut in Busy Season.
September 6, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers officially return to work today poised to move terrorism insurance, student lending, and possibly deposit insurance legislation over the finish line. Other bills -- including ones to set federal rules on data...

For Branch-Buying REIT, No Signs of a Slowdown.(real estate investment trusts)
September 6, 2005... The 3-year-old real estate investment trust American Financial Realty Trust is proving a valuable yardstick in assessing both the expansion and retrenchment of some of the nation's biggest banking companies. Over the last year the...

Executive Changes.
September 6, 2005... MIDWEST Marquette Asset Management Inc. of Minneapolis has hired a State Street Corp. veteran, Kevin T. Brown, as its chief operating officer. The Marquette Financial Cos. unit, which opened in February, offers private asset management...

Washington People.(includes multiple articles)
September 6, 2005... Tough Judge It read more like a novella than a court decision, spinning colorful tales of greed, corruption, and deception. And it climaxed by imposing an almost unheard-of penalty on a federal bank regulator. So perhaps it should come...

Exemplar of Decentralization Decides to Go the Other Way.
September 6, 2005... A pioneer of the super community banking structure, Financial Institutions Inc. in Warsaw, N.Y., is consolidating its four bank subsidiaries to cut costs and get a better grip on the internal-control and credit-quality problems that have dogged...

Corporate Community: A Roundup of Katrina Relief Efforts by Financial Companies.
September 6, 2005... A week after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, financial institutions across the country have mobilized to support the recovery effort. Federal agencies continued to urge banks to be flexible with consumers stunned by the...

Iberiabank: Ready to Rebuild.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Daryl G. Byrd, the president and chief executive of Iberiabank Corp. of Lafayette, La., said he expects Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and other cities near New Orleans to grow fast as families and businesses displaced by Hurricane Katrina begin to...

In Brief: MasterCard Delays Foreign Fee Revamp.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... MasterCard International Inc. said it will delay the enactment of a planned fee for U.S. merchant-acquirers on cross-border transactions between a U.S. merchant and a foreign cardholder. A MasterCard spokeswoman said last week that it...

In Brief: AIG Unit Hires Exec To Run Private Equity.(American International Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... American International Group's global investment unit has announced the hiring of Robert T. Thompson to run its alternative investments group. Mr. Thompson, who will be based in New York, is to be a senior managing director and report to...

In Brief: Dundee's Asset Oversight Widened in Aug.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Dundee Wealth Management Inc. in Toronto on Friday reported double-digit-percentage gains during August in fee-earning assets, which now total $45.1 billion. The company's assets under management grew 17.7%, to $17.8 billion, and assets...

In Brief: Federated Launches an Income Portfolio.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Federated Investors Inc., a Pittsburgh investment management company, said it has started a fund portfolio benchmarked against the standard trust index. Federated Intermediate Government/Corporate Fund seeks total return with an emphasis...

Genworth Weighs In with Retirement Income Push.(Genworth Financial)
September 6, 2005... Genworth Financial plans to aggressively join the retirement services companies that are launching products and units aimed at gathering customers and assets from baby boomers nearing retirement. "The focus for years around 401(k) plans has...

In Brief: OFHEO, Fannie, Freddie in Pacts.(Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight)(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced formal, enforceable agreements Friday with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over subordinated debt, liquidity, risk management, and disclosure. Each of the government-sponsored...

New-Core Report: Europe, Asia Banks Most Ready.
September 6, 2005... Are banks becoming more open to the idea of replacing core systems? A new worldwide survey of 1,500 bankers that was commissioned by a pair of vendors of core processing products and services and performed in part by the Boston consulting...

Survey: Web Banking Leveling Off @by@By Daniel Wolfe.
September 6, 2005... The number of people using online banking has plateaued, while concerns about theft and fraud have risen, according to a survey the New York marketing research firm Ipsos Insight is expected to release today. "From 2004 to 2005, the percent...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 6, 2005... In the Aug. 19 paper, the page 7 story "Banks Seen as Hobbled on Variable Annuity Share" confused two banking companies with Citizens in their names. The one discussed was actually Citizens Bank in Corvallis, Ore., not Citizens Banking Corp. in...

In Brief: Whitney Dispatches Officials to Houston.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Whitney Holding Corp. of New Orleans has moved senior managers to Houston and started reopening branches in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. The $8.9 billion-asset parent of Whitney National Bank reopened its branches in Houma, Thibodaux,...

In Brief: Analyst on Possible Hibernia Deal Revise.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... If Capital One Financial Corp. demands to renegotiate its $5.3 billion deal to buy Hibernia Corp. because of Hurricane Katrina, it might be in Hibernia's interest to remain independent, an analyst said Friday. The seller's "assets in the...

In Brief: Chain Housing Bank Branches May Sell.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... The fate of 840 bank branches may be up in the air after the announcement Friday by the supermarket chain Albertsons Inc. that it was considering selling itself. A spokesman for the Boise, Idaho, company said it would not say any more than...

In Brief: B of A Could Face Enforcement Action.(Bank of America Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Bank of America Corp. disclosed Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission planned to recommend enforcement action against B of A's brokerage unit for trading and research-related infractions. The Charlotte company said in a filing...

In Brief: Shares Dip Again At Storm-Area Banks.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2005... Shares of Gulf Coast banking companies sank for a third consecutive day Friday amid reports of continued violence and looting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Hibernia Corp. of New Orleans was down as much as 7.5% during the day and...

U.S. Bank Seen Beating Squeeze With Fee Income.
September 6, 2005... U.S. Bancorp can boost fee income more than enough to offset margin compression from current interest rates, analysts said Friday. Anthony R. Davis of BankAtlantic Bancorp's Ryan Beck & Co. Inc. renewed coverage of the $204 billion-asset...

Act Renewal May Mean Swaps Fight Redux.
September 7, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Legislation adopted five years ago was supposed to settle once and for all the enforceability of banks' swaps contracts. But new legislation already voted out by a Senate committee has reopened the debate. The focus is a...

Can Genworth Be an 'FHA' For States?(Federal Housing Administration)(Genworth Financial Inc.)
September 7, 2005... RALEIGH -- Looking to further broaden its clientele beyond the top lenders, Genworth Financial Inc. plans to roll out a mortgage insurance product, similar to Federal Housing Administration coverage, for loans bought by state housing finance...

PNC Acquiring Middle-Market M&A Adviser.(PNC Financial Services Group Inc. buys Harris Williams and Co.)
September 7, 2005... PNC Financial Services Group Inc. plans to acquire a Richmond, Va., company that would let it add merger and acquisition advice to its menu of products aimed at middle-market customers. The Pittsburgh banking company said Tuesday that it...