Community Banker articles from March 2005

Community Banker archives from March 2005

Bearing the burden.(regulatory compliance)
March 1, 2005... Being in compliance has gotten very expensive. Some 84 percent of community banks say that meeting government regulations is the activity that has accounted for the biggest increase in time and manpower costs in recent years, according to...

Getting involved in politics.(community bankers)
March 1, 2005... Politics has taken on a new meaning for me. In years past, I wasn't known as a political person. I'd play golf with anyone--Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Things are different now. It's not just because I'm chairman of America's...

Community banks reach out to survivors of the tsunami.(ACB news)
March 1, 2005... Following the natural disaster that struck Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, 2004, MetroBank N.A., an $897 million-asset institution in Houston, took immediate steps to help with relief efforts. "The earthquake and tsunami that struck South Asia...

Donius steps in as chairman of ACB's political action committee.(ACB news)(COMPAC)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... William Donius, president and chief executive officer of Pulaski Bank in St. Louis, has become the new chairman of COMPAC, ACB's political action committee, effective Jan. 31. Donius succeeded James Mann, who retired from his position as...

Don't rush ruling in ATM retrofitting case, ACB urges Boston court.(ACB news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ACB has submitted an amicus brief in a case involving the retrofitting of existing automated teller machines to provide access to persons with vision impairments under the Americans With Disabilities Act. At issue in Massachusetts v....

ACB Unveils community bank awards.(ACB news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... America's Community Bankers will present the first ACB Community Bank Awards at this gear's Annual Convention in Orlando, Oct. 16-19. The national awards will honor banks that have gone above and beyond in giving back to their communities,...

easyLENDER recommended by ACB as a preferred software solution.(ACB news)
March 1, 2005... Fiserv's easyLENDER loan origination software has been recommended by ACB as a preferred solution, ACB and Fiserv Lending Solutions announced in February during ACB's National Real Estate Lending Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Hundreds of...

Insight on HMDA and BSA, just a phone call away.(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Bank Secrecy Act)
March 1, 2005... ACB's InfoPipeline teleconference calls on Jan. 25 and 26 offered expert advice on key issues surrounding the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. Here are a few of the highlights. HMDA Data Introduces New Risks When...

Updated ID theft statement stuffer now available.(ACB news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ACB has updated its popular identity theft awareness brochure. The new version, which was released in February, incorporates changes brought about by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. The brochure is a handy tool for customer...

FHLBank MPF/MPP programs.(Federal Home Loan Banks, Mortgage Partnership Finance and Mortgage Purchase Programs)
March 1, 2005... Each of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks now offers at least one of two mortgage-asset programs. The Mortgage Partnership Finance program and Mortgage Purchase Program are alternatives for community banks looking to sell fixed-rate home mortgage...

After the storm, New Alliance still committed to its community.(banker spotlight)
March 1, 2005... The dust has settled on one of the biggest banking brawls of recent years, and Peyton Patterson says that while she wouldn't want to relive any of it, she's proud of what she and her team have accomplished. April 2 will mark the first...

Director wanted.(Board matters)
March 1, 2005... What characteristics are the most important when considering candidates for a community bank's board of directors? This question was the topic du jour during a peer group discussion at America's Community Bankers' Directors Forum in...

Star-studded mutuals.(mutual savings banks)
March 1, 2005... After sitting through an extended awards season, which included the Golden Globes, Grammys, and Oscars, Community Banker wanted to get in on the fun by rolling out the red carpet for some "star-studded mutuals." We wanted to profile mutual...

Know when to hold 'em: tips for profitably keeping card portfolios.
March 1, 2005... About once a month, James A. Boora receives a pitch from a sales representative of a large credit card issuer, urging him to sell his community bank's portfolio. It's a repeating scenario, said the president and chief executive officer of...

The four seasons of loan documentation.
March 1, 2005... Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The RMA Journal, the magazine of RMA, the Risk Management Association, and has been reprinted with the publisher's permission. All opinions expressed are solely those of the author. RMA is...

Drowning in paper: a look at ongoing regulatory relief efforts and how they will affect community banks.(Economic Growth Recovery Paperwork Reduction Act)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... Regulatory relief has been a goal of the banking industry, Congress, and the federal banking agencies for more than 10 years. But during that time, rather than seeing the quantity of regulatory requirements diminish, the industry has...

Anti-money laundering requirements top list of bank regulatory burdens.
March 1, 2005... Community bankers consistently identify anti-money laundering laws as the industry's most costly and burdensome regulatory requirement. Unfortunately, regulatory burden relief legislation moving through Congress is not likely to include relief...

ACB's ongoing efforts to reduce and clarify Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
March 1, 2005... The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 added significant regulatory burden in the area of corporate governance, another new area of focus for the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the newly formed Public Company Accounting...

A trio of accounting developments are expected from FASB in 2005.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
March 1, 2005... The Financial Accounting Standards Board is expected to issue guidance on three projects in the first half of 2005 that will directly impact community banks. The first is Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 03-1, "The Meaning of...

Proposed legislation could improve federal savings association charter.
March 1, 2005... For many years, ACB has been actively supporting legislation to reduce regulatory burdens on community banks. With the support of ACB, the House of Representatives adopted the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act during the 2003-2004...

Many requirements of the FACT Act of 2003 still remain incomplete.(Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act)
March 1, 2005... The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 represented a major overhaul of the federal laws that govern the credit reporting industry. The act required the Federal Trade Commission and the federal banking regulators to undertake...

Electronic communications and the changing rules of compliance.
March 1, 2005... Banking regulations form the bulk of, but certainly not the limits to, compliance burdens. One area that has seen increased attention from Congress, regulatory agencies, and even some states, is electronic communications, specifically with...

Keeping it clean: banks safeguard customer information and increase efficiency through clean desk policies.
March 1, 2005... An average paper-laden desk probably doesn't strike fear in the hearts of most bankers, but in today's world, maybe it should. In many cases, the average desk contains a wealth of private customer information and classified bank data. "We...

Bringing a blank slate approach to the bank's balance sheet.(Investment management)
March 1, 2005... I wonder about the optimal asset mix all the time. Perhaps you do as well. We all have an existing balance sheet, with an existing mix of assets, which we are continually trying to tweak to improve toward some optimal goal. But what would...

Managing stock loan transactions with affiliates.(legal briefs)
March 1, 2005... To avoid the increasingly complex and burdensome world of public company regulation, many community banks and their bank holding companies have explored alternative ways to raise capital and provide investor liquidity, without the need to...

Online banking scores points with customers.(technofile)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The presence of online banking and bill pay services are key factors for customers when selecting a new bank, said a study from Keystone Systems, an e-business performance management company in San Mateo, Calif. Fifty-six percent of...

Stored-Value Cards.(tech speak)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Stored-Value Cards are any payment cards that are pre-loaded with a fixed amount of funds. Some cards allow a user to add more funds when the card is empty, while others are disposable. Examples of stored-value cards include payroll cards,...

Philip Cummings was sentenced to 14 years in prison in mid-January as punishment for an identity theft operation that took in between $50 million and $100 million.(bits & bytes)
March 1, 2005... Philip Cummings was sentenced to 14 years in prison in mid-January as punishment For an identity theft operation that took in between $50 million and $100 million. Cummings worked For Teledata Communications Inc., a technology company that...

Fifty percent of all U.S. online banking customers report that they have received at least one phishing e-mail, according to a November 2004 survey from Cyota, a provider of anti-fraud solutions to the banking industry.(bits & bytes)
March 1, 2005... Fifty percent of all U.S. online banking customers report that they have received at least one phishing e-mail, according to a November 2004 survey from Cyota, a provider of anti-fraud solutions to the banking industry. When Cyota last...

Walgreens Co. announced on Jan. 14 that it would continue to accept American Express cards at its stores, inking a long-term contract with the card provider.(bits & bytes)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Walgreens Co. announced on Jan. 14 that it would continue to accept American Express cards at its stores, inking a long-term contract with the card provider. In December, Walgreens had announced that it would stop accepting American Express...

OCC chimes in on states' right to regulate gift cards restrictions, lawsuits are pending.(technofile)(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
March 1, 2005... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced in mid-January that federal laws or regulations do not preempt a lawsuit filed by the state of Massachusetts against the Simon gift card. The lawsuit, filed in mid-November, alleges...

Banking agencies revamp call report submissions.(technofile)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Beginning this fall, bankers will be required to submit their call report data to a Web-based Central Data Repository, or CDR, according to an implementation plan announced in late January. The CDR supplements or replaces several Federal...

Visa, MasterCard join forces to roll out new consumer protections.(technofile)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Visa and MasterCard have joined together to create a common security standard to protect consumer information. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard will combine Visa's cardholder information security program and MasterCard's...

Visa reaches out to more Hispanics through a new debit card campaign.(technofile)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Visa has announced a new debit card campaign targeting the Hispanic community. Featuring a mix of Spanish language television, radio, and print advertisements, the campaign marks the second time that Visa has reached out directly to the...

Reaping the benefits of check imaging in Clear Lake, Iowa.
March 1, 2005... Clear Lake Bank and Trust in Clear Lake, Iowa, has seen some sizable cost savings since switching to an image-capture check-processing system in September. "We've been able to eliminate our night processing position, which has given us a...

Taking the mystery out of good customer service.(surveys & trends)
March 1, 2005... Androscoggin Savings Bank in Lewiston, Maine, knew it was doing "OK" in the area of customer service, but it had no concrete evidence to back up that assessment. And in community banking, where what you're often really selling is customer...

S corp. tax structure grows more popular.(surveys & trends)
March 1, 2005... Approximately one out of four eligible financial institutions are S corporations, a figure that has been steadily increasing since banks became able to convert to S corp. status eight years ago, according to a new report by Grant Thornton. ...

Balancing savings goals: retirement vs. college costs.
March 1, 2005... When parents have to choose between saving for their children's college education and saving for their own retirement, retirement often wins, according to the fourth annual Allstate Retirement Reality Check survey. While most people with...

Seeing red.(bank on it)
March 1, 2005... Wielding tree shears and a chainsaw, banking regulators and trade association officials took aim on June 3, 2003, at the red tape surrounding a giant stack of regulations. The symbolic gesture kicked off the once-a-decade review of-Federal...