Community Banker articles from February 2005

Community Banker archives from February 2005

There's no place like home.(front matter)
February 1, 2005... Welcome to the fourth annual Mortgage Issue. This month, Community Banker focuses on exploring new business opportunities and overcoming challenges in the changing mortgage environment. As refinancing volumes taper off, and property values...

Pruning the pages.(banking industry privacy)
February 1, 2005... Have you ever wondered what regulations cost your bank, not just in time and talent lost in compliance, but in actual dollars and cents? America's Community Bankers decided to find out. Last year we surveyed our members to evaluate the...

Banking on the future.(president's message)
February 1, 2005... Last December, President Bush hosted a White House conference on securing our economic future. The program focused on the economic challenges our country is facing and the steps we must take to create jobs. One of the key topics of the...

Refis down, but outlook is bright, real estate lending survey finds.(acb news)
February 1, 2005... Mortgage volume fell in 2004, but prospects look positive for 2005, according to the 2005 Real Estate Lending Survey, ACB'S 12th annual analysis of residential real estate lending and sales of mortgages into the secondary market. As...

OTS proposal would add needed flexibility to CRA requirements.(America's Community Bankers)(Office of Thrift Supervision)(Community Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Office of Thrift Supervision has issued a proposal that would give large savings associations added flexibility in serving the credit needs of their communities. The proposal, which America's Community Bankers strongly supports, would...

Bowman Kell named SVP of professional development.(acb news)(America's Community Bankers)(senior vice president)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... America's Community Bankers has named Bowman Kell to the position of senior vice president of professional development. Kell, who joined the staff in January, will assume responsibility for planning ACB's conferences, meetings, and education...

Helping tsunami victims.(acb news)(America's Community Bankers)(through donations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... President Bush has signed into law a bill that allows persons making contributions to tsunami relief organizations to deduct donations made through Jan. 31, 2005, on their 2004 federal income tax return. Americans are a giving, caring,...

Community bankers can make a difference in the nation's capital.(Mark Your Calendars for a Great Spring Season of ACB Meetings)(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... For a chance to interact with members of Congress and key banking regulators, don't miss America's Community Bankers' Government Affairs Conference, held March 14-16 at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C. Attendees will have a chance to make...

Operations, marketing conferences offer something for everyone.(Mark Your Calendars for a Great Spring Season of ACB Meetings)(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... Bankers from across the country will gather in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 20-23, for America's Community Bankers' National Operations, Security & Technology Conference and Marketplace and National Sales & Marketing Conference and...

National Spring Management Conference kicks it up a notch.(Mark Your Calendars for a Great Spring Season of ACB Meetings)(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Community banks are facing the simultaneous challenges of complying with regulatory requirements, implementing new information technology, and meeting customer demand. With this is mind, America's Community Bankers has redesigned this year's...

Correction.(acb news)(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2005... An article in the December issue by Jeffrey M. Levine, page 37, should have read trillion, not billion, when referring to origination volumes in 2005, 2004, and 2003.

Fannie Mae's commitment.
February 1, 2005... In December, the Fannie Mae board of directors asked me to take on the role of interim chief executive officer of the company after having served five years as Fannie Mae's vice chairman and chief operating officer. All of us at Fannie Mae are...

Payment option mortgages.(Crash Course)(new payment service in mortgage marketplace)
February 1, 2005... A relatively rare offering in the mortgage marketplace is the payment option mortgage, also know as an option adjustable rate mortgage, flexible payment ARM, or pick-a-payment loan. Although these loans can be called by many names, they all...

Bank CEO doubles as radio host.(banker spotlight)(Richard Belcher)(chief executive officer )
February 1, 2005... Richard "Dick" Belcher has parlayed his position as president and chief executive officer of First Federal Savings Bank in Rochester, Ind., into a small-town version of fame. Belcher earned his local celebrity status as host of a radio show...

North Shore Bank wins accolades for Hispanic outreach efforts.(banker spotlight)
February 1, 2005... North Shore Bank in Brookfield, Wis., has been named "2004 Corporation of the Year" by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin. The honor was awarded Jan. 22 in recognition of the $1.8 billion-asset bank's support of its Hispanic...

Planning for future leaders.(board matters)(in banking industry)
February 1, 2005... When a bank loses its president--whether through death, retirement, resignation, banking problems, or other reasons-the vultures begin circling within nanoseconds. Buyers and their representatives immediately call the bank and ask, "Are you...

Peeking into multifamily housing: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives offer a glimpse at upcoming growth opportunities in a vital market.
February 1, 2005... Beginning in 2005, the Department of Housing and Urban Development significantly raised the bar on the affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The government-sponsored enterprises also saw a hike in their subgoals...

Through the roof: deconstructing the risks in home equity lending.
February 1, 2005... A few weeks before Christmas, homeowners got stunning news. The rise in home prices actually gained momentum in the third quarter, surging at an annual rate of 18.5 percent, according to the federal government's latest data. The rapid...

Planning for staffing in an uncertain mortgage market.
February 1, 2005... Bankers are largely optimistic about the mortgage origination market for 2005. However, as interest rates edge up and refinancings slow, many have turned a wary eye to the horizon, looking for clouds that may dampen the current sunny outlook...

The price is right: exploring growth opportunities in low-down-payment lending.
February 1, 2005... The refinance wave has passed, and mortgage interest rates are creeping up from their record lows in 2003. Yet mortgage lenders should still be optimistic about their prospects for 2005 and beyond, confident that they can continue to grow their...

Reverse mortgages hit new highs.
February 1, 2005... There was a time when reverse mortgages were so misunderstood that some people proclaimed they wouldn't suggest a reverse mortgage to their worst enemy. Well, John LaFountain, senior vice president of $347 million-asset Putnam Savings Bank in...

Picking strategies for asset and liability management in 2005.(investment management)
February 1, 2005... In 2004, the focus of asset and liability management (AML) for community banks shifted from preserving net interest margins amid historically low yields to controlling risk in a rising interest rate environment. Looking forward, I expect...

Are you ready for the release of the HMDA Data?(compliance review)(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)
February 1, 2005... In March, lenders will be required to report Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data that include pricing and other information. While there are a number of regulatory risks inherent in doing business as an insured depository institution, the release...

BSA and AML compliance standards not yet clear.(legal briefs)(Bank Secrecy Act)(anti-money-laundering system)
February 1, 2005... The severe penalties and attendant negative publicity arising out of recent Bank Secrecy Act enforcement actions, by most accounts, have turned BSA and related anti-money laundering compliance into top priorities in 200S for regulated...

E-payments surpassed check volume in '03.(technofile)(electronic payments)
February 1, 2005... The total number of electronic payments eclipsed check payments for the first time in 2003, according to the Depository Institutions Payments Study, released by the Federal Reserve in December. There were 44.5 billion electronic payment...

Holiday shoppers wield more plastic.(technofile)(more usage of debit and credit cards)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The 2004 holiday season was full of cheer for MasterCard and Visa, which both experienced sizable increases in payment card spending over the same period in 2003. Between Nov. 1 and Jan. 2, consumers spent more than $218.7 billion on their...

Off the pier.(techno file)
February 1, 2005... When it comes to fraud, banks face a particularly insidious threat from phishing, and one that shows no sign of lessening. Phishers are constantly evolving new methods for tricking customers into divulging personal information, using a...

Automated deposit, coming to an ATM near you?(On the Horizon)(automated teller machines)
February 1, 2005... Banks stand to save more than $2 billion a year by switching their automated teller machines over to automated depositing, according to a report from TowerGroup, a Boston-based research and consulting firm focused on the banking industry. ...

Cambridge savings puts technology to work for energy conservation.(bankwatch)(Cambridge Savings Bank)
February 1, 2005... What's good for the environment can also be good for community banks. Just ask Cambridge Savings Bank in Cambridge, Mass. During the past three years, the $1.9 billion-asset bank has saved a whopping $180,000 on energy costs, said Nelson...

Rising rates haven't halted commercial real estate sales.(surveys & trends)
February 1, 2005... The uptick in the economy, coupled with the rise in exports, will increase demand for commercial real estate over the next few years, according to the National Association of Realtors' Commercial Real Estate Quarterly. The increased demand...

Manufacturers roll out a slew of toys that encourage kids to manage money.(surveys & trends)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... These days, you have to pull out a few bells and whistles to get kids to start saving their allowance money. For children no longer content with making a deposit into a slot on a swine and a withdrawal with a hammer, manufacturers have come...

Direct debit's downshift.(surveys & trends)(various payment methods)(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... Direct Debit's Downshift Percentage of anticipated consumer electronic bill pay transactions per payment method 2003 Direct debit 51% Bank Web site 16% Automated ...

The long road home.(bank on it)(single family housing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The long-term mortgages that bankers know and love have only been around since the 1930s. Prior to that time, most home loans were made by insurance companies eager to seize the property, in the event of foreclosure. It's almost impossible to...