Community Banker articles from June 2003

Community Banker archives from June 2003

Surviving a new world of mortgage challenges. (front matter).
June 1, 2003... In 1999, people around the world tested the Internet's abilities by participating in several "survival" contests. Most of these contests involved a handful of players who were given four walls, a computer, and an online connection. Each...

ACB celebrates financial literacy for youth month. (acb news).(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... April was designated Financial Literacy for Youth Month by President George W. Bush and Congress. And during that month, America's Community Bankers demonstrated its strong commitment to financial education in a number of ways. For...

Notice to members. (acb news).(ACB selects Nominating Committee to consider candidates for director vacancies and officer positions)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Pursuant to ACB's bylaws, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors has selected a Nominating Committee to consider candidates for director vacancies and officer positions. These vacancies will be Filled at the business meeting held...

Flood insurance should be extended during 2003. (acb news).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In April, America's Community Bankers urged Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program before the end of the year. The program should receive a multi-year extension of at least four or five years, said ACB member Frederick...

Mortgage solutions serves more than 450 banks. (acb news).(America's Community Bankers' Mortgage Solutions program)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... America's Community Bankers' Mortgage Solutions program, featuring relationships with five leading companies, has enrolled more than 450 member community banks, ACB announced on April 28, at its Spring Management Conference in Phoenix. Bob...

Former ACB director joins FHLBank of Atlanta. (acb news).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... On April 9, Eric Mondres joined the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta as vice president and director of government relations. Mondres, who was formerly ACB's director and government relations counsel, will be responsible for developing and...

What's new in the federal guide. (acb news).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Federal Reserve Board * Equal Credit Opportunity (Regulation B): Final Rule Interagency Policy Statement * Mortgage Banking Advisory Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Issuance * Anti-predatory Lending Guidance for...

Professional development: responding to the challenges of Today's Community Bank. (acb news).(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2003... professional development Responding to the Challenges of Today's Community Bank Executive & Strategic Issues National School of Banking July 11-20 Senior Leadership Institute ...

Reporter's notebook: operations, security and technology join sales and marketing in Florida. (acb news).(ACB Operations, Security and Technology Conference in Orlando, Fla.)
June 1, 2003... Technology security and fraud were top concerns at this year's ACB Operations, Security and Technology Conference in Orlando, Fla. Nearly 300 bankers met at Universal Studios Royal Pacific Resort from March 30-April 2 to network and discuss...

Community bankers meet and greet in Massachusetts. (acb news).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... America's Community Bankers hosted a reception for member and nonmember bankers from Massachusetts on April 9. Bank representatives from Connecticut also attended the event at the Newton Marriott, outside Boston. ACB's Executive Vice...

Piedmont federal marks a century of service. (nationwide news).(Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan Association )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Officials and community leaders celebrated the 100th anniversary of Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan Association in Winston-Salem, N.C., this April. In conjunction with the anniversary, the bank announced the creation of a $100,000...

The ETA account: stepchild or stepping stone? (nationwide news).(Electronic transfer account remains instrument of federal policy)
June 1, 2003... In 1998, as part of an effort to convert federal payments made by paper check to less-expensive electronic deposits (except tax refunds), the U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed a product for banks that seemed too good to be true: a direct...

National homeownership month scheduled for June. (nationwide news).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Repeating a tradition started a year ago, President George W. Bush is expected to designate June as National Homeownership Month. Although the formal announcement had not been made by press time, a spokesperson at the Department of Housing and...

Banker's bank serves community institutions. (personal profiles).(New Concepts in Banking)
June 1, 2003... On September 1, 1981, 69 banks chartered Wisconsin Independent Bank, an unusual new bank in the state of Wisconsin. Our sole purpose was to provide correspondent banking services, from a non-competitive source, to the state's independent banks....

Many new SEC rules affect public banks: financial institutions that have used methodologies other than generally accepted accouting principles when preparing recent disclosures may need to revise those disclosures. (market maker).
June 1, 2003... Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has published a number of final rules that directly affect public companies, including community banks. The rules, which were required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of...

Picking an insurance agency: insights from bankers who've bought one.
June 1, 2003... Community banks that have bought insurance agencies in the last two years learned the pitfalls and opportunities by watching the first wave of deals that happened in the mid-1990s. In interviews with four banks that recently purchased agencies,...

Community banks support American troops.(Queen County Savings aids customers in the armed forces)
June 1, 2003... In March, a Marine asked about Queen County Savings' ATM card rules and fees for overseas use. The ATM card request set in motion a series of programs from the bank's holding company to aid customers in the armed forces. Queen County...

Completing the puzzle: banks link mortgage origination to automated underwriting technology.
June 1, 2003... Before Liberty Bank of Middletown, Conn., converted to its new loan origination system in August 2002, the $2 billion-asset institution was limited in its underwriting options. At the time, the bank's aging legacy system didn't link with...

Blue ribbon mortgage Web sites: transactional capabilities rule. (cover story).
June 1, 2003... Bankers who originate loans over the Internet universally agree that the payback for installing online lending is quick and painless. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that so few banks make online loan applications available on their Web...

Getting it all sorted out: how community banks are harnessing technology to enhance marketing efforts.
June 1, 2003... The financial services arena has become crowded. Customers have more choices for their financial needs than ever before. Faced with the need to be competitive, a growing number of community banks are looking for technology-based marketing...

What's new in FHLBank funding: funding programs at the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks provide needed liquidity to America's financial institutions. When combined, the FHLBanks comprise the largest debt-issuing body in the world. The following articles, submitted by six of the 12 FHLBanks, offer a broad overview of funding programs that cater to specific regional and market needs.
June 1, 2003... Atlanta Convertible Advances Offer Options, Raise Questions Historically low interest rates have prompted many in the banking industry to reconsider how unexpected interest rate shifts, and the resulting forecasts and assumptions about...

Investing prudently despite the potential for rising rates. (investment management).(Interest-rate risk is serious concern for community banks)
June 1, 2003... Editor's Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author's. Federal regulators agree that interest-rate risk is a serious concern for community banks. ACB advises prudent management of all assets within an institution's...

Regulators comment on overdraft protection programs. (compliance review).
June 1, 2003... As banks of all sizes begin to offer overdraft protection programs, it is a good time to review some factors that financial institution regulatory agencies look at regarding these products. One of the reasons ODP has received so much...

Competitive strategies for community banks. (legal briefs).
June 1, 2003... Many community bankers are creating competitive strategies to help them stay ahead in today's market. To be successful, community banks need to periodically evaluate their type of charter, form of organization and operating structure to...

Overdraft privilege: the next generation in customer service. (business solutions).
June 1, 2003... When properly managed, overdraft services can be a win-win product for customers and for banks. The customer who is occasionally over-extended knows that his or her overdraft will be covered and one's reputation will be protected. And the bank...

HIPAA privacy compliance: what does it mean? (technology report).(Financial services industry)
June 1, 2003... April 14 has come and gone, and like it or not, HIPAA privacy compliance is finally here. But what does this mean for the financial services industry? Do community banks come under the aegis of the Health Insurance Portability and...

Identity theft: bad for customers and for banks. (technology report).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Consumers are not the only ones paying the price of identity theft. While ID theft is a growing concern for consumers--over 160,000 individuals reported a case of identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission in 2002--banks are finding...

Check imaging expands its range. (technology report).(Endpoint Exchange Network signed agreement with National Clearing House Association in April)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The profile of check imaging, already attracting increased attention due to current legislation on check truncation being considered on Capitol Hill, is on the rise nationally. In a move to expand the scope of its check truncation services,...

Lenders expect strong demand for commercial real estate loans. (surveys & trends).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Demand for commercial real estate loans in 2003 should meet or exceed last year's levels, according to the third Semi-Annual Survey of Lenders' Commercial Real Estate Perspectives. The survey was released in April by national real estate...

Internet users likely to access bank Web sites. (surveys & trends).
June 1, 2003... Close to 20 percent of active Internet users accessed a bank or credit union Web site during March, according to a report released April 15. In all, almost 25 million customers were logging on to financial institution sites, the report added....

Harvard study finds multifamily housing does not lower home values. (surveys & trends).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Multifamily housing located in working communities does not cause lower property values, according to a new Harvard study commissioned by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. Working communities are home to over half of the population of the...

Banks stepping up financial literacy efforts. (surveys & trends).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Community banks nationwide have recognized the growing need to educate consumers about financial practices, and are taking action. Ninety-eight percent of banks sponsor financial literacy programs, and 72 percent offer their own programs,...

Postage rates expected to remain steady. (surveys & trends).(New law will change how United States Postal Service pays into Civil Service Retirement System)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Legislation signed by President George W. Bush on April 23 should help stave off another postage rate hike until 2006. The new law will change how the United States Postal Service pays into the Civil Service Retirement System. Without the...

Data bank.(Statistics about the Internet, small business and credit cards, among other topics)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... internet A total of 102,517 Internet-related fraud complaints were logged in 2002. The number of financial institutions offering online services will increase from 1,150 in 1998 to 15,845 by 2003. small business There are 7....

Community bankers' agenda advances. (chairman's corner).
June 1, 2003... Direct messages create action in Washington. Shortly after ACB's highly successful Government Affairs Conference, where key members of Congress heard our members' views on banking issues, things began to happen in Washington. First,...