Banking Wire articles from January 2002

Banking Wire archives from January 2002

No.39: Robert J. Miller - BB&T Retains Local Color In Northeast Florida.
January 2, 2002... Some bankers originally viewed brokers as the cause of disintermediation, but Robert Miller was hired as the cure. "I was recruited by the DeLand (FL) branch to stop money walking out the door," he says. He was the ideal candidate, having grown...

No.40: Terrence E. Burns - Wells Fargo Rep Aims To Be HNWI Point Person.
January 2, 2002... A rep WHO limits HIS number of clients to 100 may seem to lack ambition, unless he works at Wells Fargo, which has long catered to the highest of the high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). "I think it's possible to have too many clients, and...

No.41: Tracey Weller - For This SunTrust Rep, Bloom's Not Off the Rose.
January 2, 2002... Tracey Weller seems to have just as much fun tending to her clients as she does her flowers. In both cases, the results are blossoming. As an investment consultant with SunTrust Securities in Baltimore, Weller has $34 million in assets...

No.42: Stephen Fish - PNC Producer Swims Against the Current.
January 2, 2002... Once an aspiring Olympic swimmer, Stephen J. Fish says the qualities he learned in that pursuit have proven invaluable as an adviser. Fish made the Olympic trials in 1980, "the year Jimmy Carter decided not to let us go," Fish says....

No.43: Robert Garlow - For SunTrust Atlanta Rep, A Focus on the Positive.
January 2, 2002... Although Robert S. Garlow faced revenue challenges in 2001 as the stock market tumbled, his assets under management rose by almost 20%, to $80.5 million. And the number of clients rose 14.8% to 1,182, but his production slid 5.7% to $687,035....

FIs Must Focus on Where E-Business is Headed.
January 2, 2002... It began as a revolution. But Annette Tirabasso, partner in Deloitte Consulting's financial services practice, says it's really an evolution, yet many firms' on-line service remains disconnected. FutureBanker: What issues do FIs face in...

Securing Customer Loyalty Drives Acquisition and Retention.
January 2, 2002... C. Richard Pace and Wendy Jamieson, Abt Associates Many financial services institutions focus on the wrong aspect of their Web site and compare themselves with the wrong Web sites. Their most effective focus would be on four drivers of...

Creating Winning M-Commerce Models in the Financial Services.
January 2, 2002... Mobile commerce, or mCommerce, is something that financial services firms cannot ignore. Of the people using wireless today, only a small fraction are currently using it for financial services but that number is expected to grow rapidly. A...

e.Browser.
January 2, 2002... Corillian, Microsoft Partner for XML Corillian Corp., the e-banking services provider, and Microsoft have inked a multi-year agreement in which the companies will develop enterprise class Internet banking solution for financial...

SWIM Makes a Splash in Mobile Banking: Consumers in the Netherlands are using mobile banking services protected by digital signature security that can be loaded onto their existing WAP handsets.
January 2, 2002... The largest mobile banking roll-out to date in the Netherlands will base its public key infrastructure (PKI) security on SchlumbergerSema's subscriber WAP identity module (SWIM). The partners responsible for this initiative, retail bank...

No.44: Judith Singleton - Word Spreads Quickly About Jackson Bank Rep.
January 3, 2002... Not a big believer in advertising, Jackson State Bank rep Judith Singleton relies exclusively on word-of-mouth-and-truth be told-swift feet, to create a buzz about her investment services. She is involved in many fundraisers, like the...

No.45: Suzanne Trzcienski - For Liberty Bank Rep, Investing's a Family Affair.
January 3, 2002... Suzanne Trzcienski boils down her success to three classic tips: Communicate, educate and treat your clients like friends and family. Treating your family like clients is advice she's reversed-literally; since her two daughters, now 25 and 21,...

No.46: Ken Van Wagenen - Wells Fargo Rep Glitters With LA Clientele.
January 3, 2002... The Dutch diDN'T invent banking, but they did perfect it. And Ken Van Wagenen did not invent bank-based brokerage, but he certainly has perfected it. He finished first in assets with a lofty $900 million, and tied for first in production at...

No.47: Mario Fernandez - SunTrust's Miami Heat Pursues Overseas Clients.
January 3, 2002... At the tender age of 18, Mario E. Fernandez discovered finance. Fresh out of high school, he landed a job with a local brokerage and passed the Series 7 and Series 63 exams. After Merrill Lynch rejected him for a job three years later, for...

No.48: Thomas Kim - For Bellco CU Rep, Selling is His Art.
January 3, 2002... Thomas Kim FLIRTed briefly with a career as an architect before discovering sales, since his best talent was drawing. His chosen path, however, didn't stop him from indulging in his love of the pen. "I'm actually still a pretty good...

A round-up of overseas news from our European editor, Louise West.
January 3, 2002... France - French financial institution La Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne has chosen Teradata, a division of NCR, for its national data pool project. The bank hopes the data warehouse will improve its knowledge of the group's 26...

Official: More Needed on Migrant Accounts: A Mexican official makes the case for helping migrants open U.S. bank accounts.
January 3, 2002... A Mexican government official called on U.S. banking companies to make it easier for migrant workers from his country to wire money south of the border, even if means bending "know-your-customer" rules slightly. Juan Hernandez, the...

Talking the talk: "Welcome to your automated voice response unit. On your phone's touch-tone keypad, please enter your account number now...".
January 3, 2002... And so, for many banking customers, the journey begins-one that meanders through a maze of codes, met with the eerily mechanical "Transaction complete." Granted, touch-tone Interactive Voice Response systems do the job well enough, but often...

A Lasting Impression.
January 3, 2002... Along with natural language speech recognition, a compatible technology is evolving: speaker authentication, commonly known as "voiceprinting." Like a fingerprint, this numeric representation of a voice and its speech patterns is unique for...

Honestly Speaking.
January 3, 2002... A testy touch-tone phone system can take callers to places they've never been before-or ever want to go again. Ken Ravazzolo, president of Paragon Voice Systems, recounts his own recent experience during a business call. "I couldn't...

No.49: Patrick LeViseur - PNC Brokerage Newbie Finds Himself on Track.
January 4, 2002... Many brokers have work to their way up through the ranks, but few start as far down as Patrick LeViseur. A native of Youngstown, OH, he studied economics, political science, and history at Youngstown State University with hopes of teaching and...

No.50: David Brooks - National Commerce Exec Stays Active in the Game.
January 4, 2002... David M. Brooks, retail brokerage sales manager at National Commerce Financial Corp., is always willing to share the spotlight with the nine sales reps he oversees. After 20-plus years in financial services, he enjoys helping less experienced...

Women, Men Differ on Knowledge Of Fixed, Variable Annuity Options: The Nationwide poll also shows that women are more likely than men to value certifications and recommendations from advisers. A national brokerage affiliation wasn't an issue for most respondents.
January 4, 2002... Though affluent women tend to be less interested in high-risk investments than their male peers, they don't know much about either variable annuities (VAs) or fixed annuities (FAs), which financial planners call viable retirement investment...

New Boss Hopes Charity Begins At Citi, Rather Than at Home: Douglas Moore asked for the helm of the newly formed Estate & Charitable Planning at Citigroup'sprivate bank, with the hope of bringing innovation to philanthropy and to ultra-high net-worth trusts.
January 4, 2002... Concrete barricades and glowering security guards give the Citigroup Center in Midtown Manhattan the air of a forbidding fortress, but for ultra-high- net- worth (UHNW) individuals and families interested in philanthropy, the welcome mat has...

Strength, Stamina, Personal Skills: Launching a Superstar Sales Career: Developing a rhythm to one's work, or a tempo to the steps in the sale process, can help good salespeople get in sync with their prospects. If done correctly, most would-be buyers will let you lead.
January 4, 2002... Sales requires engaging in a multitude of tasks simultaneously, playing many varying roles concurrently and having the strength, stamina and ability to keep an eye on it all. The key skills that can launch a superstar sales career include the...

From the Outside: Outsourcing Aids Compliance.
January 4, 2002... The July 1 deadline may be long gone, but community banks continue to scramble to comply with the infamous Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. While purporting to protect the confidentiality of customer information, GLB imposes yet another significant cost...

So they say...: "The United States is clearly on the path to a more automated retail payments system.".
January 4, 2002... Cathy Minehan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commenting on a recent Fed study documenting the rise in electronic payments. The report states that an annual 30 billion non-cash retail payments were made electronically, of a...

Inside View: New Attitude Shaped the Year: Bankers used 2001 to assess their technology purchases.
January 4, 2002... Our decision to take a much different approach to the magazine's annual "Best of the Newest" feature this year is no slap in the face to the financial IT providers out there. We've spent the past year chronicling what's new under the sun, as...

Renaissance Commission's 'Proposals' Disappointing.
January 4, 2002... Ever go to a movie based on a glowing review you'd read in the daily newspaper then been disappointed because the movie fell far short of your expectations? That's how many in the credit union movement are feeling about the final product...

Where Did The Hike In CUNA's Annual Dues Go?
January 4, 2002... Speaking of CUNA; more than one credit union executive would like to know how the national trade association could be headed into deficit again, after raising more than $5.2-million in new revenues from last year's dues increase. Sure, the...

FiTech Offers Mortgage Apps.
January 7, 2002... Liberty FiTECH Systems and Provantedge Technologies, Irvine, Calif., have entered into an agreement under which FiTECH's 180 credit union clients will now be able to take advantage of state- of-the-art mortgage origination and processing...

Thermal Receipt Printers Added.
January 7, 2002... re:Member Data Services (RDS) announced the compatibility of thermal receipt printers with its cuStar core data processing software. ASP and in- house customers can now use thermal printers, which offer advantages over traditional receipt...

OSI Introduces Aggregation.
January 7, 2002... Open Solutions Inc. (OSI), which provides integrated enterprise core data processing, Internet banking and e-Commerce financial solutions for credit unions, has launched OmniView Account Aggregation Services. Open Solutions will offer those...

Electronic Liens, Titles Available.
January 8, 2002... Allied Solutions, LLC said it plans to begin offering an Internet- based vehicle title- tracking product incorporating electronic lien and title (ELT) services. The new service will be powered by VINtek, Dallas, an automotive industry software...

CUNA Mutual Selects Vignette.
January 8, 2002... Vignette Corp., which provides integrated content management applications, announced that CUNA Mutual Group is operating its website using Vignette software. CUNAmutual.com, went live in June with Vignette applications. CUNA Mutual cited the...

Kiosks Add Integrated Lending.
January 8, 2002... Digital Dialogue, an Internet-based multi-channel call center, said it has signed an agreement with Real-Time Kiosks, provider of full-function, self- service financial kiosks, to produce the credit union industry's first kiosks with...

CheckFree Awarded New Patent.
January 8, 2002... CheckFree Corp. said it has been awarded an additional patent by the United States Patent & Trademark Office in the domain of electronic billing and payment (EBP) technology and processes, focusing specifically on various aspects of...

CCCorp Integrates With Metro2.
January 8, 2002... Computer Consultants Corp. (CCCorp) announced its Mercury system is the first credit union core system to integrate Metro2 format credit bureau reporting. Mercury clients are now able to report member credit histories to any of the three...

ACCU Adds Receipt Manager.
January 8, 2002... Arizona Central Credit Union has completed the installation of the Receipt Manager system offered by Bluepoint Solutions, Carlsbad, Calif. Receipt Manager allows member signatures to be electronically captured at the teller window. This...

VIFI Makes Top 100 List.
January 8, 2002... VIFI, which provides Internet-based financial services such as online banking, brokerage, and cash management for financial institutions, was ranked as No.100 in the Inc. 500 annual listing. The Inc. 500 is a guide to America's fastest...

Check Fraud Prevention Enhanced.
January 8, 2002... Advanced Software Design (ASD) Corp., a provider of secure electronic check fraud prevention solutions, has entered into an alliance with Atlanta-based iMagic Corp., which provides check imaging to financial institutions. The companies...

D.C. Proposes Plan To Create 'District' Charter.
January 8, 2002... The city council has introduced a bill that would allow for locally chartered credit unions. The District, one of five localities that does not allow for an alternative to federally chartered credit unions, repealed enabling legislation in...

CUNA Mutual Hires Long-Time NCUA Exec.
January 8, 2002... Bob Loftus, long-time spokesperson and lobbyist for NCUA, has been hired by CUNA Mutual Group to assist in congressional lobbying. Loftus, who retired from NCUA in July, will be engaged in lobbying on insurance issues and not on credit union...

Journal Daily.
January 9, 2002... CU Exec Banned For Embezzlement ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Roslyn Keen, former president of Millard Fillmore Hospital FCU, was banned from the credit union industry by NCUA for stealing $15,000 from the Buffalo, N.Y., credit union. Keen pleaded...

Community Page.
January 9, 2002... How Int'l CU Day Was Celebrated ASTON, Penn.-Sun East FCU celebrated International Credit Union Day with refreshments and prizes for all members who stopped in on Oct. 18. In addition to the festivities, the credit union collected...

The Eight-Step Process To Consider When Changing A CU's Name.
January 9, 2002... Perhaps the most emotionally charged decision a credit union can make is to change its name-even when the name has been made obsolete by the disappearance of the original sponsor company. With a record number of credit unions choosing new...

Bickering, Dissension, Objections: And That's Just Among The Board.
January 9, 2002... There's the potential for a whole lot of heartache, bickering and uncertainty when a credit union changes its name-and that's just at the board meeting where the idea is first broached, according to those who've been through it. "When a...

Wheat Predicts Legal Action Will Follow Vote To Repeal CAP Regulation.
January 9, 2002... The NCUA board last week voted to repeal the Community Reinvestment Act-like Community Action Plan (CAP), just days before the controversial measure was due to become effective. The board voted 2-1 for repeal, with Board Member Yolanda...

Do We Really Need That?: One Oregon Credit Union Is Happy To Invest In Technology, But Only After Asking Hard Questions First.
January 9, 2002... In a sharp departure from sky's-the-limit technology budgeting, a progressive credit union has succeeded with a "back-to-the-basics" approach and even an IT manager who questions the obvious, asking, "Do you really need a website?" ...

NCUA Nominations Could Tread Water For Several Months.
January 9, 2002... The nomination of Iowa State Senator JoAnne Johnson to the NCUA board was on its deathbed last week as sources with the Senate Banking Committee said they won't hold the necessary confirmation hearings on the nomination this year. That...

Steel Plant's Woes Have Enmeshed 3 Cleveland CUs.
January 9, 2002... Steel Valley Credit Union wants to set the record straight. Yes, the CU that serves employees of the financially troubled LTV steel factory is putting a 30-day hold on those workers' paychecks as reported in The Credit Union Journal last...

ON DEADLINE.
January 9, 2002... Significant Rise In Bankruptcies Predicted MADISON, Wis.-A significant increase in bankruptcy filings over the past few years may be likely, according to one attorney. Charles L. Williams III, an attorney with the Dallas firm Blalack &...

Study Sees Slow Acceptance Of Biometric Technologies.
January 9, 2002... Despite the benefits biometrics could bring to financial institutions and consumers alike, the high cost of implementing these technologies combined with a lack of industry consensus could delay its widespread use for at least a decade,...

New IRA Rules May Presage Deposit Inflow, Says Firm.
January 10, 2002... Credit unions already flush with deposits should begin preparing for an influx of even more funds after Jan. 1, thanks to changes in IRA laws that will go into effect on that date, according to one analysis. Chip Filson, president of...

How CUs Can Help Bottom Line Of Sponsor Companies.
January 10, 2002... Credit unions that want to help their own bottom line would be well-advised to help employees address their personal bottom lines first, according to remarks offered before a Filene Research Institute-sponsored colloquium. Thomas Garman,...

Missouri Bankers Plan To Seek Additional FOM Appeals.
January 10, 2002... The Missouri Bankers Association is promising to launch additional appeals of FOM grants after the state credit union supervisor gave his preliminary approval last month to two of the biggest community grants ever for the state. "We will...

Foundation Decision Awaits IRS.
January 10, 2002... The board of the New York Credit Union Foundation has made a decision on how to disperse the more than $1 million it has collected for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. But as The Credit Union Journal was going to press, NYCUF Director...

Bank Sees Late-Night Business.
January 10, 2002... Since announcing it would be open 24 hours per day, seven days per week, Woodforest National Bank reports 20% of its average 175 new accounts per month are being opened between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. The two branches where the bank is open 24/7...

Charter For Native-American CU.
January 10, 2002... NCUA said it has approved a federal charter for Community Service FCU, a new credit union in Bartlesville,., which will serve as many as 100,000 potential members in the Oklahoma counties of Washington, Nowata and Ossage, including several...

League Invests In Call Center.
January 10, 2002... The Alabama league has approved an additional $50,000 investment in iCUNow, the 24/7 call center service. iCUNow promises credit unions the ability to give members decisions on loans in one minute or less. Separately, the league is also...

Michigan CU Glad To Suffer Loss (Staff Weight Loss, That Is).
January 10, 2002... When Security FCU in Flint let go of the equivalent of one employee, the staff celebrated. Good riddance, they thought, admitting openly that the extra blubber around the office was annoying and bothersome. Before you gasp in shock at...

Worth Noting.
January 10, 2002... CURA Funds Are Donated WASHINGTON, D.C.-The $459,000 that was collected by the "Credit Unions Rebuild America" (CURA) Fund to support relief efforts in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania...

Does Your CU Control The Circumstances, Or...
January 10, 2002... Life throws us curveballs all the time and we as individuals, credit unions, communities, and a country often find ourselves in circumstances we would rather not be in. Circumstances can either bring us down or motivate us. Some of us give...

Elected Chair Of Chamber, CEO Cites Value Of Contacts.
January 11, 2002... It's not enough to just make a token appearance at community business organizations like the Chamber or the Rotary Club. Just ask Gary Irvin, CEO of FORUM CU here. He's the new chairman of the Chamber of Commerce here for 2002. The...

Group Wants Reg Reconsidered.
January 11, 2002... A coalition of 12 financial services and homeownership organizations, including CUNA Mutual Group, CUNA, NAFCU and Navy FCU, is urging the Bush Administration to reconsider a proposed regulation on capital requirements against low down-payment...

News Briefs.
January 11, 2002... 41% Have No Emergency Fund BOSTON-While most financial planners recommend families have enough in savings to cover at least three months of expenses to prepare for emergencies or a job change, a new survey from Fidelity Investments found...

You've Heard It. Maybe Even Said It. But What Does 'Change' Really Mean?
January 11, 2002... Technology is changing the way credit unions do business. How many times has that been heard at conferences and conventions? And how many times have you wondered exactly what it means? One speaker at CUES Directors Conference asked those...

'Boards Have Technology Responsibility, Too'.
January 11, 2002... It is incumbent on credit union boards to understand what is going on with technology in order to make technology decisions, said David Furnace, director for Alex Sheshunoff Management Services, citing account aggregation as one emerging...

Why Product Matters Most: Even Though It Gets More Than Half Its Auto Loans From Online Apps, One CU Says It's A Mistake To Focus On The Delivery Vehicle.
January 11, 2002... Online lending giant Digital Federal Credit Union, with more than half of its auto loan applications captured via the Net, is nevertheless shy about fixating on its website as a delivery channel. "One mistake credit unions often make is...

Technology News.
January 11, 2002... CO-OP Going Wireless ONTARIO, Calif.-The CO-OP Network has introduced Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology, wireless technology it said is similar to the way police cruisers access DMV databases. CO-OP Network is making it...

Investments Soar, But Technology Is Flat On Most CFOs' Desktops.
January 11, 2002... As loan volume has slowed, credit union investment portfolios have correspondingly increased. Investment managers working to get the most out of those funds are under the gun-and there's no off-the-shelf technology to assist with analysis. ...

Why One Smaller CU Has Opted For 24/7 Lending System, Center.
January 11, 2002... Around-the-clock lending is an affordable option for small credit unions, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) FCU. It credits its ability to lend 24/7 thanks to an agreement between Computer Consultants Corp.,...

1st Hosted Conductor Site Is Set.
January 11, 2002... Symitar Systems, a subsidiary of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., reported it has signed its first Conductor core data processing system client in a hosted, service bureau environment. The $20-million NOED FCU in New Orleans will convert to...

CU Economists Foresee Another Fed Rate Cut.
January 14, 2002... The Federal Reserve's action last week cutting short-term interest rates a record 11th time this year is expected to spur more rate cutting among credit unions. "Credit unions will continue to cut loan and dividend rates. The market is...

Wheat Left To Defend Legacy Of An Old Rival.
January 14, 2002... The effort by NCUA board members Geoff Bacino and Dennis Dollar to rescind the Community Action Plan, or CAP, before the controversial initiative became effective, left the third board member, Yolanda Wheat in a peculiar position of defender...

October Brings To 156 Small CUs In Mergers.
January 14, 2002... NCUA said it approved 22 CU mergers in October, making a total of 234 mergers approved this year. October's approval included 15 mergers in which a small CU under $5-million in assets disappeared, making a total of 156 small CUs claimed...

People.
January 14, 2002... VENDOR SWBC, San Antonio, Texas, named Greg Lawler VP of information technology, Kelly Tramontano CEO and VP of the financial services division, and Mark Walker VP of information technology strategic development. Irwin Mortgage...

Canadian CU Expects Investment in Digital Documents To See Pay Off.
January 14, 2002... Digital document scanning has replaced microfilming this Fall at Atlas & Civic Credit Union, ensuring instant, clear check copies, said Linda Johnston, assistant data coordinator. The (C)$90-million Atlas & Civic Credit Union is using a...

39 ND CUs To Move To PSI.
January 14, 2002... The North Dakota Credit Union League has announced plans to sell its PRODATA data processing unit to Premier Systems, Inc., (PSI), an affiliate of the Iowa Credit Union League. As part of the acquisition, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based PSI...

One Effort Seeks The 'Bare Bones' Of Data Needed For Decision.
January 14, 2002... "When banks compete, you win," says the ad for Lending Tree. Some lenders take that ad as a threat. CUNA Mutual Mortgage is taking it as a reminder to help credit unions better serve their members. Because LendingTree offers...

Community Page.
January 14, 2002... SSFCU Wins Call Center Of The Year SAN ANTONIO, Texas-Security Service Federal Credit Union's 24/7 Global Telephone Center was honored by the Professional Teleservice Management Association as the winner of its Call Center of the Year...

Journal Daily.
January 14, 2002... Pay Hike For NCUA Board Discussed WASHINGTON, D.C.-A bill passed by the Senate would provide members of Congress and all presidential appointees, including NCUA board members, a 3.4% pay raise in January. If approved by the House the...

As Sponsor Moves To Wireless, CU Plans To Hold Off To Measure Acceptance.
January 14, 2002... As its primary sponsor begins offering wireless access to its employees and customers, USF FCU is holding off on implementing the same technology for its members. The University of South Florida is using Air2Web's wireless platform to...

Small CUs Critical Of Quarterly Reporting.
January 15, 2002... Small credit unions told NCUA they do not want to start filing quarterly call reports like larger credit unions, even if it means an extended examination cycle. A majority of small credit unions commenting on the NCUA proposal to apply the...