Community Banker articles from November 2004

Community Banker archives from November 2004

Banking on women.(front matter)
November 1, 2004... when I bought my first home five years ago, I could almost have qualified for the mortgage on my own. My husband couldn't. At the time, I was making more money, and had a longer credit history. I also knew more about our financial options....

Doherty takes charge as ACB's 2005 leadership slate is installed.(acb news)
November 1, 2004... On the final day of America's Community Bankers' Annual Convention, Harry P. Doherty, a New York community banker, took over as chairman of ACB. Doherty is vice chairman of Independence Community Bank Corp. in Brooklyn, N.Y., a $17.5 billion...

CitiMortgage joins ACB suite of mortgage solutions programs.(acb news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CitiMortgage, a member of Citigroup, will now offer mortgage products and enhanced services designed to help ACB member banks meet more of their communities' housing needs through an agreement with ACB Business Partners Inc. The agreement,...

Genworth offers online tools for reaching Hispanics.(acb news: Genworth Financial Inc)
November 1, 2004... Tu Casa Ahora, a new online Spanish-language program from Genworth Financial Inc. that translates to "Your Home Now," will help members of America's Community Bankers reach potential Hispanic homeowners. The program was announced during ACB's...

Fiserv tapped to help members tackle check 21 challenges.(acb news)
November 1, 2004... America's Community Bankers on Oct. 7 endorsed Fiserv Inc. to be a preferred provider of a comprehensive range of check-processing products and services to help member banks prepare for the implementation of the Check Clearing for the 21st...

SBA programs help expand opportunities for small businesses, pathfinder bank CEO testifies to house.(acb news: Small Business Administration)
November 1, 2004... The Small Business Administration's 7(a) and 504 loan programs are two of the greatest tools community banks have for aiding small businesses, Tom Schneider, representing America's Community Bankers, testified before the House Committee on...

ACB habitat builds: where are they now?(acb news)
November 1, 2004... As ACB members and their spouses were doing the hard work at ACB'S annual Habitat for Humanity convention build in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, the families that benefited from previous convention builds in San Francisco and Las Vegas were...

Winter bank management forum will help bankers prepare for the future.(acb news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Bank presidents, chief executive officers, chairmen, directors, and senior management representatives can prepare for the changes they face in today's competitive marketplace with insight from top industry experts at America's Community...

National Compliance and Attorneys Conference.(reporter's notebook)
November 1, 2004... Every part of the banking business "is impacted by one or more regulatory concerns that we work with on a daily basis," Lucy Sharp, general counsel of Abington Savings Bank in Jenkintown, Pa., told attendees at ACB's 2004 National Compliance...

U.S. banker names a slew of ACB members to its honor roll of prominent banking women.(nationwide news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Several members of America's Community Bankers were honored by US. Banker magazine as the "25 Most Powerful Women in Banking" and the "25 Women to Watch." Listed among the Most Powerful Women in Banking were Peyton Patterson, chairman,...

Congress passes S corporation reforms.(nationwide news)
November 1, 2004... Congress on Oct. 11 passed legislation that could significantly improve subchapter S options for banks. The provisions were included in the American Jobs Creation Act, which will now go to President Bush, who is expected to sign the measure...

Treasury targets increased direct deposit usage.(nationwide news)
November 1, 2004... Community banks can benefit from a new campaign aimed at motivating people to receive their federal benefits by direct deposit, said Alvina McHale of the Department of the Treasury. Approximately 22 percent of people who receive federal...

IRS aims to eliminate federal tax deposit coupons.(nationwide news)
November 1, 2004... The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging banks to recommend the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to their small business customers. EFTPS is an alternative to depositing Federal Tax Deposit Coupons, or FTDs. Currently, small...

From phone calls to 'fly-ins,' fostering political relationships takes time.(grass roots)
November 1, 2004... One year ago, I met with our Congressman, Bob Ney (R-Ohio), during a visit to Washington, D.C. I was there with several of our bank's executives on an ACB fly-in, and I hand delivered a package to Ney on behalf of our community, applying for...

Meet Harry Doherty: new ACB chairman's leadership lessons began at his parents' knees.
November 1, 2004... When Harry Doherty thinks about community leadership, he doesn't think of business executives in suits or politicians on the stump. He thinks of his parents, Harry and Nora Doherty, Irish immigrants who ran Doherty's Tavern on Staten Island....

Experienced and involved leaders build solid backbone for ACB: as 'an entrepreneur in a larger enterprise,' Meyer straddles the best of both worlds.
November 1, 2004... F. Weller Meyer, who becomes ACB's first vice chairman on Wednesday, is a leader with a passion for community banking and community service. He didn't plan it that way. In fact, he didn't plan his career at all. "I always thought I'd...

From Navy Career to banking, Macomber finds himself sailing before the wind.(Mark E. Macomber )
November 1, 2004... Thirty years after leaving the U.S. Navy, Mark E. Macomber is still finding smooth sailing in the banking industry as president and chief executive officer of Litchfield Bancorp, a $169 million-asset mutual organization in Litchfield, Conn. ...

Zuppe reflects on his year at the helm.(William W. Zuppe)
November 1, 2004... William W. Zuppe, who lives 200 miles inland from the Pacific Coast, never expected floods to play such an important role in his life during the past year. But they did. As chairman of America's Community Bankers, he led the charge in...

Taylor says active role pays dividends.
November 1, 2004... It's easy for D. Russell Taylor to sum up why he has been an active member of America's Community Bankers for more than a decade. "My heart is in community banking. Anything we bankers can do individually or as a trade association to...

Today's financial decision makers: women.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Michael A. Roy, president of The Right Bank for Texas in Houston, has to look no further than his own household for evidence: that women are a force in financial decision making. His wife is a partner in a major law firm who easily out-earns...

When good mortgages go bad.
November 1, 2004... When it comes to loss mitigation in mortgage departments, bankers have good reason to celebrate. Homeownership rates are at all-time highs. Default rates are at their lowest levels in four years. And delinquencies are down. In the second...

Online bill pay: getting customers to use it.
November 1, 2004... First County Bank in Stamford, Conn., will give one of its customers the chance to win $1 million in early November. The lucky customer, Alicia Tenaglia, will get a one-in-a-thousand shot at the cash because she paid her bills online...

Simplifying the complex task of supervising bank portfolio managers.(investment management)
November 1, 2004... In my 38 years of experience in the financial markets, I have seen the inevitable march from the simple to the complex in terms of investment choices open to financial institutions. As with every other facet of our life (remember the days...

ACBQ Index outpaced key benchmarks in third quarter.(market maker: America's Community Bankers )
November 1, 2004... The America's Community Bankers NASDAQ Index outperformed broader market indexes in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. The Index, as measured on a total-return basis, ended the third quarter at 268.65, a 4.77 percent rise from its second...

Charter conversions point to a renaissance for federal savings banks.(legal briefs)
November 1, 2004... In the past four years, approximately 20 state-chartered banks--including three from Massachusetts this year--have either converted to federal savings bank charters or elected to be treated as thrifts and regulated by the Office of Thrift...

Planning for an extra-long retirement.(business solutions)
November 1, 2004... You've probably seen the headlines. Tantalizing hints from laboratory search suggest that medical science may soon break the "age barrier" of 120 years, and that gene manipulation could allow people to live to be 140 or even 150 years old. ...

Branch banking continues to win popularity contests.(technology report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Consumers still like bank branches. In a recent survey of 400 consumers, more than a third (34 percent) said that going into branches was their favorite way to bank. Eighty-six percent of the respondents said they visit their bank's branch...

Supreme court denies Visa, MasterCard appeal.(technology report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In one of the first acts of its fall session, the U.S. Supreme Court elected not to hear appeals from Visa and MasterCard regarding an antitrust lawsuit filed by the government against the two credit card associations. The separate Visa and...

Consumer concern grows over online banking fraud.(technology report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Two out of five consumers are more concerned about online banking fraud than they were last year, according to an online survey conducted by InsightExpress, a market research firm in Stamford, Conn. In all, 71 percent of the 300 survey...

NACHA seeks bank comments on return entry fees proposal.(technology report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Financial institutions have until Nov. 30 to file comments on a proposal from NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association that would implement network return entry fees. Under the proposal, fees would automatically be assessed to financial...

Banking agencies release phishing brochure.(surveys & trends)
November 1, 2004... A new brochure from the federal banking agencies can help financial institutions educate their customers about the dangers of phishing. The brochure defines phishing, tells consumers how to protect themselves, and instructs them on what to do...

Consumers responding to ease, flexibility of gift cards.(surveys & trends)
November 1, 2004... When asked what they would like to receive this year for the holidays, approximately half of consumers said gift cards, according to the 2004 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. This interest in gift cards represents a more than...

Promontory increases CD registry service limits to $10 million.(surveys & trends)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Promontory Interfinancial Network in October doubled to $10 million the level of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage its member banks can offer a customer through its flagship service, the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service...

Show me the money.(bank on it)
November 1, 2004... If you think you know everything there is to know about money, you're way off the money. Do you know what a dollar is made of, or how much it weighs? Read on to Find out the answers to these pressing questions and more. >> The Bureau of...