American Banker articles from September 2006

American Banker archives from September 2006

Be a Bank? Buy a Bank?...None of The Above?
September 1, 2006... Third of three parts As large banking companies consider their fitness for the consolidation endgame, all but a handful are bound to find themselves lacking. That makes it a particularly good time for introspection during strategic...

Gift Cards' Shifting Role At the Branch.
September 1, 2006... Open architecture pitching other companies' products alongside or instead of one's own -- has become standard practice for banks in lines like investment and insurance products. A handful of banking companies are trying that approach with...

Few Won Over By Treasury's Henry Defense.(Henry, Emil)
September 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department's defense of its assistant secretary for financial institutions' possible conflict of interest is under fire from ethics specialists and industry observers. Though Emil Henry Jr. is set to receive as...

Seeking 'Raw Materials,' A Pa. Start-Up Buying PSB.(PSB Bancorp Inc.)
September 1, 2006... Richard A. Elko does not waste time. The president and chief executive officer of a start-up that has not even had its grand opening yet announced an $87 million cash deal Wednesday to buy PSB Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia. Mr. Elko...

Washington People.(includes multiple articles)
September 1, 2006... Help for Victims Central Bancshares Inc. in Lexington, Ky., stepped in quickly after Sunday's crash of Comair Flight 5191 to help collect donations for the families of victims. The company's Central Bank opened an account at 7:30 a.m....

FDIC Plans Overdraft Survey.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to investigate overdraft protection policies by gathering data from 500 of the banks it regulates with exams scheduled for early next year. The examiners will ask the banks up to 85 questions about...

Security Watch.
September 1, 2006... Breaches Hackers let their fingers do the walking through an AT&T Inc. database of customer information. The San Antonio telecommunications company said Tuesday that thieves had obtained personal information, including credit card...

Mellon Starts ACH Conversion Service For Businesses.
September 1, 2006... Mellon Financial Corp. is offering to convert check images into automated clearing house payments for businesses that are using its remote deposit services. The Pittsburgh banking company said one customer, the Princeton, N.J., nonprofit...

In Brief: MassMutual Settlement Annuity.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. introduced a structured settlement annuity Thursday for funding stand-alone attorney fees. The Springfield, Mass., insurance company said this product expands plaintiff attorneys' opportunities to...

In Brief: Allied Irish Banks to Sell Stake.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Allied Irish Banks said Thursday that it had agreed to sell its stake in a Dublin joint venture fund-administration company to Bank of New York Co. AIB/BNY Securities Services was set up in 1995 to supply services to Irish funds and now...

Fidelity Sees 401(k) Growth Even Without New Law.
September 1, 2006... Fidelity Investments expects its Advisor 401(k) platform to maintain its strong recent growth pace but says it does not look for an extra boost from recently enacted pension legislation. The Boston mutual fund giant said that assets in its...

Viewpoint: Actually, Future Looking Bright for Thrift Charter.
September 1, 2006... Stories like Wachovia's deal to acquire Golden West, Citigroup's announcement that it is merging its federal savings banks into its national bank, and thrifts' converting to national banks have re-ignited speculation about the future of the...

Viewpoint: Mass Affluent May Be Overexposed To Real Estate.
September 1, 2006... The boom in residential and commercial real estate fattened a lot of portfolios in the past decade, but that appreciation may have created a portfolio imbalance that exposes some customers to more sector risk than they may realize. Thanks...

Viewpoint: The Winning Formula for Business Banking.
September 1, 2006... Business banking, the undefined business line that falls between commercial banking on the one hand and consumer lending on the other, is an unsolved mystery for most banks. We intuitively know this business should fit well within the...

Viewpoint: Adding E-Mail to Your Marketing Menu.
September 1, 2006... There's a restaurant in my hometown that impresses me with smart, cost-effective marketing on a regular basis. I believe their favorite strategy is one that many banks could benefit from implementing. This restaurant is Willie's Grill and...

Editor's Note.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... This is the last of a three-part series in which we look at the future of banking through the prism of the "endgame." The articles, which began Wednesday, are based on extensive interviews with industry executives and observers. (Excerpts...

John Allison, chairman and CEO of BB&T.(bank industry faces price war)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... There is a bubble in community bank stock prices, and those bubbles will correct over time. Big helps, and big is important, and there are probably some people who are so far behind that there is no hope of getting big enough - but big...

Richard Fairbank, chairman and CEO of Capital One.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... I love to use the term "endgame," because as a company we like to work backwards from where the market is going, as opposed to working forward from where we are. Endgame is a very provocative concept to confront our associates with to create...

Puerto Rico Authorizes Gas Station Surcharges.
September 1, 2006... Puerto Rico's Department of Consumer Affairs has granted gasoline stations permission to impose a credit card purchase surcharge, which likely would violate the policies of the card companies. Gas station owners have complained that rising...

In Brief: Interthinx Parent Buys Domus Assets.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Insurance Services Office Inc., the Jersey City parent of Interthinx, has acquired the assets of Domus Systems Inc., a Beverly Hills provider of compliance and reporting technology for the affordable-housing sector. Interthinx offers fraud...

In Brief: UBS Downgrades REITs, Cites Defaults.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Omotayo Okusanya, a UBS AG analyst, downgraded shares of New Century Financial Corp. of Irvine, Calif., and Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. of Newport Beach to "reduce 2," the equivalent of a "sell" rating, from "neutral 2." He wrote in a...

In Brief: Builders, NAACP In Housing Effort.(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The National Association of Home Builders and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said they would work together to create housing opportunities for minorities. As part of the collaboration, they released Wednesday...

In Brief: Fitch Issues Report On Regulation AB.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Achieving compliance with Regulation AB "will remain a challenge in the first year" for residential mortgage servicers, Fitch Inc. warned Wednesday. "Each party in the servicing function is required to provide (by no later than March 31,...

Mortgage Insurers Push Regulators To Move Quickly.
September 1, 2006... National Mortgage News Mortgage insurers are concerned that regulators are not moving with enough speed to put the brakes on nontraditional home loans, particularly option adjustable-rate loans taken out with "piggyback" home equity ones...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2006... In the Aug. 30 paper, a story on page 18 misstated which Bharosa security software Wells Fargo agreed to use. Wells is using a real-time risk analysis system, not one that can authenticate people by putting a file on their computers whenever...

In Brief: Associated Buys Back Shares from UBS.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Associated Banc-Corp of Green Bay, Wis., said it repurchased 2 million shares Thursday, or about 1.5% of its outstanding common stock, in an accelerated buyback. It bought them for $31.43 a share, or about $63 million, from a London branch...

In Brief: Wachovia, Golden West Investors OK Deal.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Shareholders of Wachovia Corp. and Golden West Financial Corp. voted Thursday to approve Wachovia's $25.5 billion purchase of the Oakland, Calif., thrift company. The deal, which still must get regulatory approval, is expected to close...

In Brief: H&R Block Posts Loss, Cites Repurchases.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... H&R Block Inc. reported a wider-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss of $131.4 million, or 41 cents a share, on Thursday. The average estimate of analysts for the quarter, which ended July 31, was for a loss of 29 cents a share,...

In Brief: Regions' Horsley to Retire After Merger.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Richard D. Horsley said he is retiring as a director and officer of Regions Financial Corp. In a Thursday letter to the Birmingham, Ala., company's board, Mr. Horsley said he would step down as vice chairman when Regions closes its merger...

Profit Expectations Down For Big Investment Banks.
September 1, 2006... Three analysts who cover investment banks are expecting generally weak fiscal third-quarter results from some of the largest ones. Brokers reported record second-quarter earnings on the strength of capital markets activities and investment...

Niche Competition Hotter.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... Most bankers' banks stick to where they are chartered, but two, in Texas and Georgia, have expanded well outside their states. They say they are doing what is best for shareholders and customers, but others do not welcome the competition. ...

FHA Leader on Reforms, Progress, and Next Steps.(Brian D. Montgomery)
September 5, 2006... In just a year on the job, Brian D. Montgomery has led the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program back to a measure of relevance, and started a push that could return it to a place of prominence in the single-family housing...

As Session Nears End, Few Bills Look Likely: Regulatory relief aside, Congress' focus seen elsewhere.
September 5, 2006... WASHINGTON -- After more than a decade of trying, banks may finally get regulatory relief enacted by yearend. But the odds are that is the only bill affecting the financial services industry that is liable to get any action in the 14...

Wamu Looks Beyond FHLBs, Sees Europe.
September 5, 2006... Washington Mutual Inc. is in Europe this month hoping to launch a program that could dramatically reduce its borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Wamu was set to begin a two-week European road show Monday for a...

In Brief: H&R Block: Selling Option One Not Option.(Company overview)(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... H&R Block Inc. says it is not considering any "strategic" moves for its Option One Mortgage Corp., despite a disappointing quarter in which repurchases of loans sold by the subprime mortgage unit increased. When asked last week during an...

Washington People.
September 5, 2006... What Staffers Think It is election season, and the latest polls are downright embarrassing for many members of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees, especially Sen. Rick Santorum, who is in a tight race. ...

Bankers' Banks See Friction in Fed Proposal.(Industry overview)
September 5, 2006... Bankers' banks fear a proposed change in Federal Reserve Board policy might make community bank customers view them as competitors rather than allies. Currently bankers' banks provide services to banks, bank subsidiaries, employees,...

CUs' Views on Conversion Proposal Mixed.
September 5, 2006... Banking trade groups have already gone on record criticizing the National Credit Union Administration's proposed regulation on credit union conversions. The view among credit unions that have filed comment letters with the NCUA is much...

Bank Holding Companies with Largest Portfolios of Commercial Real Estate Loans: On March 31, 2006. Dollars in thousands.(Industry overview)
September 5, 2006... Type of Commercial real estate loans Total loans Holding Co. March 31 Year earlier Change and leases 1 Bank of America Corp. Charlotte bank $45,202,866 $40,535,566 11.5% $595,754,235 2...

VeriFone Sees Deal to Buy Lipman Closing by Nov.(Company overview)
September 5, 2006... VeriFone Holdings Inc. expects to become the world's top point of sale terminal company by November. The San Jose company said it is close to completing its deal to acquire Lipman Electronic Engineering Ltd., a Rosh Haayin, Israel, rival....

Three Firms Settle ATM Technology Patent Dispute.(Fidelity National Information Services Inc. and U.S. Bancorp settle dispute with Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.)
September 5, 2006... Fidelity National Information Services Inc. and U.S. Bancorp have settled a dispute with Global Cash Access Holdings Inc. over technology that lets automated teller machines conduct debit and credit transactions. Global Cash, a Las Vegas...

In Brief: Small-Business Poll: Economy Worsening.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... The majority of small-business owners feel gloomy about the economy, according to the first edition of a survey that Discover Financial Services plans to release every month. The Discover Small Business Watch, which the Riverwoods, Ill.,...

In Brief: Cavalry Reports Surge in Debt Purchases.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... The Hawthorne, N.Y., debt buyer Cavalry Investments LLC said the face value of portfolios it bought in the first half more than doubled from a year earlier, to $1.2 billion. Cavalry said last week that its portfolio of receivables has grown...

TSA Looks for Growth at Home and Abroad.(Company overview)
September 5, 2006... In the 18 months since becoming its president and chief executive officer, Philip G. Heasley has been putting his stamp on Transaction Systems Architects Inc., which sells automated clearing house software and wire transfer systems for large...

In Brief: Bank of West Picks Carreker.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... Bank of the West, a San Francisco unit of BNP Paribas SA, has agreed to use automated document tracking software from Carreker Corp. of Dallas. Carreker said last week that the $55 billion-asset bank would use its TrackPoint software,...

In Brief: Open Solutions, Ceto In Deal.(Ceto and Associates)(Open Solutions Inc.)(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... The Glastonbury, Conn., banking technology software vendor Open Solutions Inc. will offer its clients deposit analysis software and services from Ceto and Associates of Atlanta. Open Solutions announced the partnership last week. Ceto's...

Managed Accounts Exec Doubts Bank Share Gains.(Leonard Reinhart)(Industry overview)
September 5, 2006... Last September, industry analysts forecast that banks would double their separately managed account market share by 2010, but a year later, the head of an industry group is less positive. Leonard Reinhart, the chairman of the Money...

In Brief: Willis Amends A.G. Pact to Allow Payments.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... Willis Group Holdings Ltd., the third-largest insurance broker in the world, announced Friday that it had amended its 2005 agreement with the New York attorney general and the state's insurance department to allow payment from insurance...

In Brief: ING Variable Annuity Adds Spousal Benefit.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... ING Group NV's U.S. retail annuities unit has announced the addition of a spousal withdrawal benefit to its variable annuity family. The withdrawal feature offers a guaranteed lifetime benefit for married couples, the Atlanta-based unit...

Wall St. Diverges in Views On Capital One's Outlook.(Company overview)
September 5, 2006... Investors and analysts seem to disagree on the outlook for Capital One Financial Corp. The views on Wall Street tend toward the positive -- 22 of the 31 analysts who cover the $90 billion-asset McLean, Va., company have the equivalent of a...

In Brief: Comments Sought on Data-Sharing Survey.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... Six federal agencies have begun taking comments on a proposed study of how financial institutions and their affiliates share consumer credit data. The five bank, thrift, and credit union agencies -- as well as the Federal Trade Commission...

In Brief: Plan Seeks Broader Powers for OFHEO.(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight released a draft of a five-year strategic plan that made pushing for statutory reforms one of its three main goals. The other strategic goals OFHEO set for itself for the fiscal years 2006...

Branching Out.(Industry overview)(Brief article)
September 5, 2006... Bankers' banks have historically operated under a certain code of conduct: Steer clear of my territory, and I'll steer clear of yours. That's changing, though, as a handful of bankers' banks have started aggressively expanding into...

Look for ILC Move to Produce Compromise on Bill.
September 5, 2006... Industrial loan companies came into existence in the early 1900s to serve the borrowing needs of blue-collar workers. They received little notice until last year, when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. filed an application with the Federal Deposit...

Thank You Notes - by the Tankful.(Company overview)
September 5, 2006... Univest Corp. in Souderton, Pa., sure can throw a party. Its 130th anniversary in June inspired a weeklong celebration in which Univest donated $130,000 to community organizations and helped hundreds of drivers fill their gas tanks. ...

The Laziness Factor in Loyalty.
September 5, 2006... Stealing other banks' business customers is apparently easier said than done. Small-business owners sniff around for new banks from time to time, but few of them end up switching from their primary banks, a survey found. It's not...

Future Brightens for Little-Used Capital Tool.
September 5, 2006... Truman Bancorp Inc. of Clayton, Mo., was in the market for additional capital recently. In a move few other community banks have attempted over the years, it raised part of the money it needed to fund an $18 million acquisition by issuing...

Bankers' Banks Expanding Beyond Home States.(Industry overview)
September 5, 2006... Since bankers' banks started appearing three decades ago they have focused on serving community banks and have largely shied away from competing with one another. But that old model is crumbling as more institutions expand their...

An Old Fee Idea Returns As Antifraud Tool at Nacha.(Electronic Payments Association)
September 6, 2006... Nacha expects to introduce a sweeping set of proposed rule changes this year that it says are aimed at curbing fraud on the automated clearing house network. The new formats the electronic payments association has introduced in recent...

Should Top Banks Get 'Standardized' Option?(Basel II capital proposal)
September 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Bankers hoping for significant changes to the Basel II capital proposal were disappointed Tuesday when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approved a plan that closely tracked one the Federal Reserve Board released in March. ...

Merrill Wins Bidding for First Franklin: Following a Wall St. trend, unit to feed mortgage conduit.(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)(First Franklin Financial Corp.)
September 6, 2006... To catch up to rivals that have been vertically integrating their mortgage desks, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. has a deal to buy the nonprime lender First Franklin Financial Corp. and two other National City Corp. units for $1.3 billion. ...

Executive Changes.
September 6, 2006... MIDWEST Huntington Bancshares Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, has made Roger L. Mann its chairman for eastern Ohio. Mr. Mann had been the region's president since joining Huntington in March, when it bought Unizan Financial Corp., where he had...

SVB: Unit to Offer Options Valuation Outsourcing.(SVB Financial Group)
September 6, 2006... SVB Financial Group of Santa Clara, Calif., said its recently formed business unit, SVB Analytics, plans to offer valuation services to private companies that include options in their employee compensation packages. As part of its efforts...

More Flaws Found in FDIC Data Security.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has made progress in correcting weaknesses in its information security systems, but problems continue to pervade the regulator, the Government Accountability Office said. Of the 24 security weaknesses the...

In Brief: CU Portfolio Sales Seen Rising in '06.(credit card portfolios at credit unions)(Industry overview)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Sales of credit card portfolios by credit unions are down this year, but they could pick up in the second half, according to Brookwood Capital LLC, a Peterborough, N.H., advisory group to credit unions. In the second quarter, 17 credit...

In Brief: Fitch: Chargeoffs To Return to Normal.(Fitch Inc.)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Fitch Inc. says it expects chargeoffs for U.S. credit card asset-backed securities to return to historical levels by yearend. "I think that bankruptcy filings are edging up. We saw that they've been around 12,000 in recent weeks.......

In Brief: SI Financial to Buy Fairfield Financial.(SI Financial Group Inc., Fairfield Financial Mortgage Inc.)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... SI Financial Group Inc. in Willimantic, Conn., has a deal to buy Fairfield Financial Mortgage Inc. in Danbury. Fairfield, founded in 1998, has branches in Texas, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania and is a...

In Brief: Bank of Wilmington to Change Its Name.(Cape Fear Bank)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Bank of Wilmington in North Carolina is renaming itself Cape Fear Bank to reflect its recent expansion outside its hometown. Founded in Wilmington in 1998, the bank has opened branches in Surf City, Hampstead, and Leland since early 2004....

In Brief: BancorpSouth Opens First Branch in Fla.(Florida)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... BancorpSouth Inc. of Tupelo, Miss., has entered Florida by opening a full-service branch in Destin nearly four months after buying a banking charter there. "This adds a seventh state to the BancorpSouth franchise and expands our existing...

Sun Picks a Retail Chief From Ranks of JPM Chase.(Sun Bancorporation Inc.)(Jeffrey P. Hawkins, formerly of J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)
September 6, 2006... Sun Bancorp Inc. in Vineland, N.J., has hired a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive to help improve its retail performance. At a meeting of branch managers Tuesday -- at which the $3.2 billion-asset Sun also unveiled a sales training program --...

In Brief: JPM Chase to Buy Benefits Consulting Firm.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., CCA Strategies LLC)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services has a deal to buy CCA Strategies LLC, an employee benefits and compensation consulting firm in Chicago. The deal, announced Tuesday, is expected to close within the next 90 days. The price was not...

In Brief: N.Y.'s First Republic Hires U.S. Trust Exec.(Dodie Gumaer, First Republic Bank of New York)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... First Republic Bank of New York has hired a U.S. Trust Co. executive as a managing director. Dodie Gumaer, whose hiring was announced Tuesday, will work for the private bank's First Republic Wealth Advisors and serve high-net-worth...

In Brief: Strong Profits Seen in Property/Casualty.(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry will meet or exceed estimates for underwriting performance and net income for the full year, according to a report Fitch Inc. released Tuesday. Favorable and improved first-half operating...

Mellon, Exante Plan to Enter Private-Label HSA Business.(Mellon Financial Corp., Exante Financial Services, health savings accounts)
September 6, 2006... Mellon Financial Corp. and Exante Financial Services are both preparing to offer banks a private-label health savings account platform. "We are actively pursuing white-label health savings accounts," said John Prince, the chief executive...

In Brief: MBA: Commercial Originations Up 17%.(Mortgage Bankers Association report on commercial mortgage originations)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Second-quarter commercial mortgage originations surged 17% from a year earlier and 23% from the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The trade group's estimate, released last week, was based on a survey of 25 mortgage...

In Brief: CharterMac Takes Over a Calpers Fund.(California Public Employees Retirement System)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... CharterMac said it has terminated its option to buy 49% of a Chicago pension fund adviser but has taken over one of the adviser's plum assignments: managing a real estate investment fund for the California Public Employees Retirement System....

BServ Buys Magex Payment Unit.(Magex Managed Payments Platform)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... The San Francisco payment technology vendor BServ Inc. has acquired Magex Managed Payments Platform, the person-to-person payment technology unit of Magex Holdings Ltd. of London. BServ, which does business as BankServ, announced the...

Brean Murray's Optimism Lifts First BanCorp.
September 6, 2006... Shares of First BanCorp jumped more than 4% during Tuesday trading after Brean Murray Carret & Co. upgraded the San Juan, Puerto Rico, company's stock to "accumulate," from "sell." Keri L. McGreevy, an analyst at Brean Murray, said in an...

In Brief: MasterCard to Post Interchange Rates.(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... MasterCard Inc. said Tuesday that on Nov. 1 it will publish all its interchange rates in the United States and put a cap on the interchange fees that petroleum retailers pay. "Among the things merchants have told us they want is additional...

In Brief: Sovereign Delays Santander Trust Vote.(Sovereign Bancorp Inc., Banco Santander Central Hispano SA)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Sovereign Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday that it withdrew a shareholder proposal to let Banco Santander Central Hispano SA vote all the shares it owns. In its preliminary proxy filing last month, the Philadelphia company asked its shareholders...

In Brief: JPM Chase Plans To Be No. 1 in Mich.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Michigan)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced Tuesday that by yearend it expects to be the largest banking company in Michigan by number of branches. The $1.3 trillion-asset company has opened 18 branches in the state this year and plans to add another...

In Brief: Sterne Agee Starts Covering L.A. Firms.(Sterne, Agee and Leach Inc., Los Angeles, California)(Brief article)
September 6, 2006... Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. initiated coverage Tuesday of four Los Angeles banking companies that cater to Korean-Americans. Thomas J. Monaco, an analyst at Sterne Agee, assigned a "hold" rating to the $3.6 billion-asset Hanmi Financial...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 6, 2006... In the Aug. 31 paper, a correction on the back page, about a story in the Aug. 25 paper about NetBank Inc., was itself incorrect. When its reported its second-quarter results, NetBank said it would consider selling its nonconforming mortgage...

Rosenfeld's Lonely Fight Looking a Bit Lonelier.(Federal Housing Finance Board Chairman Ronald Rosenfeld )
September 7, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Policy proposals are often divisive, but rarely are federal regulators as isolated as Federal Housing Finance Board Chairman Ronald Rosenfeld is on his plan to boost the Federal Home Loan banks' capital. His opposition...