Community Banker articles from June 2004

Community Banker archives from June 2004

Homeward bound.(front matter)
June 1, 2004... The United States has a home financing system that is arguably the envy of the world. More than 68 percent of Americas families owned their home in the first quarter of 2004, according to U.S. Census data. Interest rates on home mortgages...

Community bankers are dream makers.(chairman's corner)
June 1, 2004... June is National Homeownership Month. To me that's not just a commemoration on a congressional calendar, but a recognition of what we do, every day, as community bankers. We are dream makers, and our individual banks' efforts in each of...

Serving the nation's community banks.(president's message)
June 1, 2004... Recently, a fellow trade association executive contacted me to ask why we at ACB call ourselves Americas Community Bankers. After all, he pointed out, we represent a large number of thrifts. The thrust of his argument was that nothing but a...

A look at ACB's 2004 Commercial Banking Survey.(acb news)
June 1, 2004... Most community banks are satisfied with the quality of their commercial banking products and services and with their market's acceptance of these offerings, according to a recent survey by America's Community Bankers. But at the same time,...

RMA offers ACB members free trial membership as part of new alliance.(acb news)(Risk Management Association )(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... RMA--The Risk Management Association has become America's Community Bankers" first "preferred solutions provider" as part of an alliance announced in May. On an introductory basis, RMA is offering ACB members a free institutional trial...

ACB NASDAQ Index update.(acb news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The America's Community Bankers NASDAQ Index is the most broadly representative stock index for community banks. Here's a look at how it has compared with the NASDAQ Composite since its inception on Dec. 2, 2003. The chart shows cumulative...

GE Mortgage Insurance offers special benefits to members of ACB.(acb news)(America's Community Bankers )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... America's Community Bankers in May entered into a partnership with GE Mortgage Insurance to offer an exclusive suite of mortgage insurance-related products to ACB members. This program, GE's MI Advantage, is designed to generate additional...

Correction.(acb news)(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2004... A photo caption in the April issue of Community Banker ("Scenes From the Scene: A Look at ACB's Government Affairs Conference," page 16) gave the wrong title for Katherine Harris. She represents Florida's 13th district in the U.S. House...

Could this be you?(acb news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Below is an unidentified graduation photograph from the National School of Banking. ACB needs your help in identifying this picture. We believe it was taken sometime in the early 1980s at: Fairfield University in Gonzaga Hall. If you are one of...

Mutual combinations are intrinsically different than stock combinations, ACB member testifies.(acb news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Many differences exist between mutual combinations and stock combinations, said Dana Stonestreet, executive vice president and chief operating officer of HomeTrust Bank in Asheville, N.C., in testimony to the Financial Accounting Standards...

June is National Homeownership Month.(nationwide news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Around the country, June will be recognized as "National Homeownership Month" for the third year in a row. President Bush first proclaimed June to be National Homeownership Month on June 4, 2002, declaring, "During National Homeownership...

How to get started on your own 'Congress Building America' build.(nationwide news)(Advertisement)
June 1, 2004... Want to get involved in a Congress Building America build, but not sure how to get started? Look no further than the booklet Congress Building America, A Blueprint for Your Build, which was mailed to all ACB members in April. Designed...

Fannie Mae survey cites four main factors for homeownership disparity.(nationwide news)(Federal National Mortgage Association)
June 1, 2004... Two-thirds of respondents agreed that now is a good time to buy a home, but major hurdles stand between many Americans and homeownership, found Fannie Mae's 12th annual National Housing Survey. The survey, conducted between Dec. 17, 2003,...

HUD wants FHA lenders to do more to avoid foreclosures.(nationwide news)(Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to ensure that troubled borrowers receive needed assistance in avoiding foreclosure. HUD proposed a new rule in April that would triple the damages it can seek against Federal Housing...

Getting active in Washington.(grass roots)(Internet based Principal Bank)
June 1, 2004... As a nationally focused Internet bank that is a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company, Principal Bank, with more than $2 billion in assets, is not what many would think of as a traditional community bank. But that doesn't make it any less...

The mutual holding company comes of age.(of mutual interest)
June 1, 2004... Today's political and market environment is ripe for the mutual holding company. Unprecedented market valuations now offer traditional mutuals--through use of the MHC structure--an opportunity to emerge from the shadows of stock institutions as...

Online mortgage applications: it's simple. It's easy: so why aren't more banks doing it?(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... Only 16 percent of community banks currently accept mortgage applications online. This number, taken from America's Community Bankers 2004 Real Estate Lending Survey, is curiously low, according to some bankers who already offer online...

Choosing an automated loan origination system.
June 1, 2004... Call it the "Tale of Two Mortgage Portfolios." For many community bank lenders, the past few years have been the best of times, and the worst of times. Record-low interest rates have caused an unprecedented upsurge in the first-time...

Making commercial lending work in Michigan City.
June 1, 2004... City Savings Bank in Michigan City, Ind., is a lot like most community banks, nurturing its ties to customers and underwriting home mortgages. But one thing sets this $146 million-asset bank apart. Commercial loans, once a sleepy sideline,...

Deterring fraud when it's an "inside job".
June 1, 2004... A teller, struggling to make ends meet as a single mom, shorts the cash drawer to help pay two months rent to secure a new apartment. A bank vice president sets up a business and agrees to loan his partner some cash by laundering $10,000...

Agencies update HMDA examination procedures to reflect revised regulation.(compliance review)(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)
June 1, 2004... Over the past two years, a number of changes have been made to the reporting requirements and the definitions contained in Regulation C, the implementing regulation for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Beginning in January 2004, covered...

Sarbanes-Oxley Act underscores importance of information security.(legal briefs)
June 1, 2004... The case for close attention by community banks to information security compliance has become even more compelling in recent months. Leading up to this, several events over the past five years have highlighted the need for strong...

Expanded ACB/Fannie Mae Affinity Agreement helps close homeownership gaps.(business solutions)
June 1, 2004... Members of America's Community Bankers and Fannie Mae share an important mission: to make housing finance more affordable and accessible in the communities they serve. In pursuit of that common purpose, Fannie Mae and ACB have forged a...

Satellite technology can help catch the bad guys.(technology report)
June 1, 2004... GPS locators made the news in mid-April when one of the deck-of-cards-sized satellite transmitters dropped into a bag of cash helped police catch robbers of a PNC Bank branch in Cincinnati. The global positioning satellite locators, which...

Dealing with 'potentially compromised' cards.(technology report)(Cape Cod Cooperative Bank)
June 1, 2004... When banks find out a customer's credit or debit card has been stolen, what's next is clear. Canceling and reissuing cards is expensive, and an inconvenience for the customers that rely upon the cards every day. But when it has to be done, it...

Consumers seek ID theft protection from their banks.(technology report)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Twenty-two percent of consumers say their banks should be doing more to protect them from having their identities stolen, according to a survey of 500 people performed by InsightExpress, a market research firm in Stamford, Conn. Another 41...

Beyond toasters: getting creative with giveaways.(surveys & trends)
June 1, 2004... Competition has led many banks back to a tried-and-true method of attracting customers: giving away freebies. But bank customers are no longer won over by a run-of-the-mill toaster. They expect more. "The competitive environment has forced...

Banks earn record insurance commissions.(surveys & trends)
June 1, 2004... Banks earned a record $3.6 billion in insurance commissions and fee income in 2003, according to the 2003 Year-End Bank Insurance & Investment Fee Income Report, by Michael White Associates LLC. Insurance earnings were up 3 percent from $3.49...

Vacation time: how do banks measure up?(surveys & trends)
June 1, 2004... Summer's here and the living's easy--if you're on vacation, that is. During the months of June, July, and August, most bank employees will use at least some of their allotted vacation benefits to enjoy the season with their friends and family....

Inside advantage.(surveys & trends)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... Inside Advantage "Are companies more or less likely to promote from within than they were three years ago?" Don't know (1%) More likely (60%) Less likely (24%) No significant change (15%)...

Growing online.(bank on it)(Presidential Savings Bank )
June 1, 2004... It's been almost 10 years since the first U.S. bank offered its customers the opportunity to bank over the Internet. We've come a long way since then. Just take a look at the below facts to see how popular online banking has become. *...