Community Banker articles from September 2000

Community Banker archives from September 2000

Changing Channels.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... To steal a line from Mark Twain, reports of the death of branches have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., there are more branches today than ever--over 75,000. Those are physical branches....

Welcoming Change and Growth.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Banking is changing. And nowhere is the impact of these changes felt more than in community banking. Competition, technology and new products and services are all affecting our industry, pushing it forward into new arenas with new players. ...

HUD Sets New Homeownership Goals.(Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Homeownership reached the highest level in American history in the first quarter of 2000, with 70.7 million Americans across the nation owning their homes; however, while 73.4 percent of white households owned their own home, only 47.8 percent...

national notes.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... ACB applauded the Federal Housing Finance Board's decision to remove proposed limitations on Federal Home Loan Bank investments and to implement expanded collateral requirements. ACB worked with the FHFB to ensure that a prohibition on the...

Elderly's Use of Reverse Mortgages Quadruples.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Reverse mortgages--which give elderly homeowners a financial vehicle to tap their home equity without having to sell or move from their homes--have become increasingly popular among cash-poor but equity-rich senior citizens. According to a...

ACB Supports Basic Banking Services.(First Accounts Act of 2000 )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The First Accounts Act of 2000 (H.R. 4490 and S. 2592), now under consideration by Congress, would authorize $30 million to fund pilot programs to help low-and moderate-income persons open basic banking accounts, including unspecified financial...

Fair, Isaac `Demystifies' FICO Scores.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... In an attempt to "demystify" its FICO credit bureau risk scores, Fair, Isaac and Company Inc. made public in July a clear and comprehensive list of the factors used to calculate scores and announced that a Web-based service to explain...

The Compensation Challenge.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... An examination of trends in executive and employee compensation in the community banking industry A recent industry compensation survey confirms that hiring andretaining the right people is a huge challenge. Finding, recruiting and...

Opportunities in Consumer Lending.(Strategic options available to community banks in consumer lending)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... A look at the strategic options available to community banks in consumer lending In 1990, when Milton McGee took over as president and CEO of Citizens National Bank, the Henderson, Texas, institution faced some critical challenges. Growth...

Delivery Channels: What's the Optimal Mix?(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... The branch is dead--or so we thought. What's the optimal mix of delivery channels among branches, ATMs, telephone call centers, the Internet and other means for serving a community bank's customers? When Congress approved nationwide...

Plan Now for Privacy.
September 1, 2000... A community banker examines the importance of compliance with the new privacy regulations The compliance clock on the new privacy rule is ticking and the alarm is about to go off. That is your signal that the deadline for implementing the...

New Training, Certification and Accreditation Benefits the Expansion of Homeownership.(American Homeowner Education & Counseling Training Institute)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Courtesy of American Homeowner Education & Counseling Training Institute The American Homeowner Education and Counseling Training Institute, or AHECTI, has announced that it will provide homeowner educator and housing counselor training...

Shareholder Communications and Shareholder Management Strategies.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... This report, a new quarterly feature of Community Banker, summarizes the ACB Market Maker Group's quarterly conference call. The Market Maker Group is primarily made up of analysts that follow community bank stocks. These conference calls are...

Taking `One-Time' Losses.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... It is now near the end of the third quarter of 2000. For many of you, Sept. 30 is the end of your "fiscal" year. With portfolios under water from the most recent run up in interest rates, many bankers will be considering the merits of booking...

Recent Research on Trends in Small Business Bank Lending.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... We recently attended an SBA research conference on small business lending and the emerging banking industry structure. This month's column summarizes some of the more interesting findings from the conference. Small Business Lending Is on...

Your Customers Are Your Greatest Asset.(banking industry)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Community bankers can be an intensely focused group--balance sheet management, safety and soundness, community responsibility, loan loss mitigation and more. With all of the requirements placed upon banks in these areas, it's all too easy to...

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Fall to 28-Year Low.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... The national mortgage delinquency rate fell 10 basis points to 3.72 percent, reaching a 28-year low, during the first quarter of 2000, according to figures from the latest national delinquency survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers...

Visa Goes to the Movies.(Visa U.S.A. Inc., Universal Studios Inc., How the Grinch Stole Christmas)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Getting ready for the holidays and the all-important fourth quarter sales market, Visa USA has announced that it will partner with Universal Pictures and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group for the Thanksgiving release of Imagine...

Bi-Weekly Mortgages Benefit Community Banks.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Bi-weekly mortgage loan programs can accelerate cash flow, minimize loan servicing costs, reduce delinquency, help match assets to deposits and increase mortgage options and marketability to customers. They also tend to be refinanced less...

Barefoot Banking.(FirsTier Bank N.A. Northglen, sponsor of Zoomerang)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Tim Wiens, president of FirsTier Bank in Northglenn, Colo., is getting out in the community. His bank is the sponsor of the Zoomerang, the newest attraction at the local Water World. Dressed in his weekday best, Wiens made quite the splash on...

Many consumers distrust direct deposit/payment.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... According to the Direct Deposit and Direct Payment Coalition of Washington, DC, direct deposit and direct payment, while being safe and private, can save consumers money and time--yet many consumers still distrust the processes. Direct...

NCR On-Line Program Hits 100 Businesses.(NCR Systemedia Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... NCR Systemedia Group's NCR On-Line program, an Internet-based tool that allows customers to place supply orders, track the status of those orders and create real-time inventory and usage reports, is now being used by over 100 businesses. ...

Video Security System Alternative.(City National Bank Lending and Investment Centers, Gray Electronics' Intelligent Selection)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... City National Bank Lending and Investment Centers of Texas recently decided to replace their traditional video security camera system with Gray Electronics' Intelligent Selection digital video security system. The security video camera...

EarlyResolution Expedites Workouts.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Web-based collections tool)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... EarlyResolution, a web-based collections tool announced by Freddie Mac for release in early 2001, is being designed to help servicers work more effectively with defaulted borrowers by counseling homeowners on their options earlier in the...

Bank's Revenue Increases Through Referral Program.(Fifth Third Bank of Ohio, John H. Harland Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Fifth Third Bank of Ohio has seen its check order volume double and its revenue increase since last December, when it joined the John H. Harland Company's Harland Business Solutions Referral Program. Similar results have occurred in other test...

data bank.(banking statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... the industry More than 1,050 community banks have joined one online buying network for business. Small banks outnumber big banks in the United States by 50 to one. E-business banking represents less than 5 percent of the $50...