Calendar Of Events
| Feb. 1 | NCBA Nominating Committee Meeting, Winston-Salem |
| Feb. 8-10 | Washington Bank Caucus |
| Feb. 9 | Under Fire in the Trenches, Raleigh |
| Feb. 21-23 |
Intermediate Commercial & Industrial Lending School, Raleigh |
| Mar. 5 | NCBA Board of Directors Meeting, Greensboro |
| Mar. 5-6 | Bank Directors Assembly, Greensboro |
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BUY AMERICAN |
Last week, we announced the upcoming launch of REOdeedwagon.com, our website dedicated to helping our member banks manage their REO. REOdeedwagon.com is a great marketing tool for banks looking for a distribution channel for REO inventory that lets them leverage their own robust processes and efficiencies while preserving the option of anonymity. We are pleased to report that the early response to REOdeedwagon.com has been extremely encouraging. We’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that this is a service for which there is no charge for the first 60 days after our expected February 1 launch date for member banks that wish to participate in the launch. As we prepare for our February 1 launch date, uploading REO properties to the website couldn’t be easier—that’s because we will do it for you at no cost! All you have to do is send us your listing information. You can do it the old school way by simply filling out this form, or by entering the data into a spreadsheet. We will upload it to the website ourselves. Then, via email, we will send you an activation link for your REOdeedwagon.com account and you will then be able to manage your listings online. Please try to fill out the forms as soon as possible and email them back to us so that we can help you with any questions you might have. If you’d like more information about REOdeedwagon.com, please take a look at this brochure or contact Burke Koonce (burke@ncbankers.org / 800/662-7044).
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Bring your WHOLE BOARD to the Bank Directors Assembly March 5-6 at the Greensboro-High Point Airport Marriott to hear from Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics at the University of North Carolina. |
Bubba Cunningham officially began his duties at Carolina on November 14, 2011, succeeding Dick Baddour. He is the seventh director of athletics in UNC history. Formerly the athletic director at The University of Tulsa, Cunningham guided Tulsa through its initial move to Conference USA and spearheaded a $60 million athletics initiative. This initiative included a $20 million renovation to Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium, a goal of $20 million for an athletics scholarship endowment and $20 million for a coaches' salary endowment. Cunningham implemented and developed a strategic plan for personal and professional growth and development for Tulsa's student-athletes, coaches and staff. He presided over the completion of the $8.5 million Case Athletic Complex, which houses football offices and academic support center for student-athletes.
We believe that each bank should bring its entire board of directors to this annual conference. You can be guaranteed an unparalleled director/executive officer learning experience. It all comes with a 100% money back guarantee. We believe in this program that much!! Registration information is attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information, please contact our Meetings Department at 800/662-7044.
If you are losing faith in your government’s ability to solve all the world’s problems, you are not alone. According to research to be presented at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the public’s faith in government has dropped sharply around the world in the past year. The Edelman Trust Barometer, a poll of 5,600 wealthy, well-educated and well-informed respondents in 25 countries, showed those saying they trusted their government fell from 52% to 53% in the past year, with the figure falling below 30% in countries such as Japan, Russia and Spain. Edelman, a communications consultancy, stated that the drop was the largest it had seen in the 12-year history of the survey. Politicians are less trusted than business, non-government organizations or the media, according to the survey. One bit of positive news for our readership—trust of bankers in the U.S. actually rose slightly!
Some regional banks reported results on Wall Street this past week that were cause for some optimism on Main Street that credit growth might be materializing. Comerica, the Dallas-based mortgage specialist, reported a 4% increase in total loans versus a year ago and better than expected earnings stemming from commercial lending, mortgage finance, and corporate banking. Also, SunTrust, with its substantial footprint in North Carolina, posted loan growth of 3%, helped by new commercial lending and guaranteed student loans, and beat earnings expectations. Regional banks and larger institutions that have focused on traditional banking have fared better this earnings season than their Wall Street counterparts.
| If you care for your bank, train your best and your brightest. Take your young people and send them starting this summer to the North Carolina School of Banking at UNC-Chapel Hill. Please don't waste their time and your money by sending them to out-of-state schools. The North Carolina School of Banking is a bargain and it is absolutely the best choice for your best young bankers ... their future and the future of your bank. Under the guidance and oversight of our Dean, Dr. Harry Davis, our curriculum is unmatched. We promise to send you a better prepared and more skilled banker or we will give you your money back. Nobody else in the country makes that offer. Don't book an airline seat. Take a real close look at the out-of-state school costs, then take a look at the credentials of bank leaders in our state. Graduates of the North Carolina School of Banking become chief executive officers of North Carolina banks! You don't have to spend a king's ransom by taking them away from this great educational experience and sending them off to something you may not be quite so sure about. A quality education at the North Carolina School of Banking is a certainty. We totally guarantee it!! Applications are now being accepted and are attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information, contact Blair Jernigan, Registrar (blair@ncbankers.org / 800/662-7044). |
Entrepreneurial spirit is in the air in the Queen City. Anticipating the Democratic National Convention upcoming in September, hotels are jacking up prices for Convention week. Holiday Inn Express Suites, East Matthews, is charging $849.15 to $1,014.00 per night during Convention week. That compares with $126.65 to $184.00 the week before. Rates at the Quality Inn at Carowinds, Fort Mill, start at $699.00 per night during Convention week, compared with $63.86 the week before.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on the use of hybrid capital instruments, such as trust preferred securities, by financial institutions and on access to capital by small financial institutions. The report has some controversial findings that fly in the face of what most bank trade associations like ours have heard from members. GAO estimated that most smaller institutions (65%) had not raised regulatory capital since January 1, 2008, and of these, a large majority (88%) indicated that they had no need or interest in raising more. Furthermore, most smaller institutions that had raised capital since 2008 were satisfied with the amount and terms involved. Only a small percentage of institutions (3%) that had attempted to raise capital since January 1, 2008, were unable to do so.
On February 9, the NCBA will host “Under Fire in the Trenches” from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the NCBA Board Room in Raleigh. This seminar will highlight the common traps and pitfalls facing lenders in today's economy. We have designed this workshop for lending officers, asset managers, compliance officers and mortgage operations staff in the community bank arena. The Early Bird deadline for this program is January 26. Complete registration materials are attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information, please contact our Meetings Department at 800/662-7044.
Georgia lost its 75th bank since 2008 on Friday. There were 46 Georgia banks that were less-than-well-capitalized on 9/30/2011 (19% of the state’s banks) and over half (125+) are under some sort of regulatory order, most of which have a capital component. You can imagine how difficult it must be to raise capital in that state. Georgia is an old unit-banking state that for much of its history didn’t have statewide branching and didn’t see the level of consolidation that we have in North Carolina.
The parent of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) – the Financial Accounting Foundation – is examining whether and how to simplify accounting standards for privately held companies. The FAF is currently holding roundtables across the country to receive input from constituents. They also have two online surveys. The FAF is proposing to form a special committee that would include a FASB member and constituents that would make recommendations to FASB on reducing the complexity of accounting standards for private organizations. FAF and FASB are interested in obtaining individual input from bankers as to their concerns related to financial reporting. Here is the a link to the FAF survey for banks as preparers of financial statements and a link to the FAF survey for banks as users of borrower financial statements.
The Federal Reserve has released blank templates of the two charts its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will use to report members’ projections for the appropriate target federal funds rate. The Fed also released a draft explanatory note. The charts are the latest step in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s ongoing effort to provide greater policymaking transparency. Fed officials say they expect short-term interest rates to remain close to zero "at least through late 2014."
Sales of existing homes rose 5% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million units. The National Association of Realtors says “the pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery.”
John A. Barker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Providence Bank, Rocky Mount, announced that the Board of Directors of the bank has declared and paid a cash dividend of $0.04 per share. The dividend was paid on January 24. Barker stated that the bank is pleased to be rewarding its shareholders, especially its founders. The dividend, the bank's first, represents a return of 1.45% annualized on their initial investment.
Citizens South Bank (CSBC), Gastonia, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for its new office at 2742 West Roosevelt Boulevard (intersection of Rolling Hills Drive and US Highway 74) in Monroe.
Bank of America (BAC) may trim annual costs by up to an additional $3 billion in the next stage of an efficiency plan outlined by CEO Brian Moynihan.
Regions Financial Corporation, the holding company for Regions Bank (RF), is selling its Morgan Keegan & Co. broker-dealer unit to Raymond James Financial. The sale will generate nearly $1.2 billion for Regions. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
Paula Fryland has been named regional president for the Eastern Carolina market for PNC Bank. She will be based in Raleigh. Paula is a 21-year veteran of the Pennsylvania-based bank, which will close on its acquisition of RBC Bank in March. A regional president for PNC is expected to be named shortly for the Charlotte market.
BB&T (BBT) has asked regulators for permission to open branches in San Antonio and Fort Worth, TX. The bank already has 25 branches in the Lone Star state but none in those two cities.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognizes the need for short-term payday loans, but it’s important that the agency ensure such products help consumers, not harm them, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said at the bureau’s first field hearing on payday lending in Birmingham, AL. The CFPB will systematically gather data to get a complete picture of the payday market and its impact on consumers, he said. In related news, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its Short-Term, Small Dollar Lending Procedures, an addendum to its examination field manual. The procedures describe the types of information that the bureau’s examiners will gather to evaluate payday lenders’ policies and procedures; assess whether such lenders are in compliance with federal consumer financial laws; and identify risks to consumers throughout the lending process.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) saw its 30-day plus delinquency rate climb upward in December to 17.79%, or roughly one in six outstanding FHA loans.
U.S. banks would operate at a competitive disadvantage with foreign institutions because of limitations the Volcker Rule would put on proprietary trading and investments in hedge funds or private equity funds, Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said at a joint hearing of the House Financial Institutions Subcommittee and Capital Markets Subcommittee. Other regulators, however, responded to lawmakers’ concerns by saying they could implement the new rule without impairing U.S. financial markets. “I think we can administer it in a very rational way,” Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said. Several acknowledged, however, that drawing a bright line between trades that are prohibited and those that are permitted will be a significant challenge.
Looking for an intern highly interested in the realm of finance? We have a strong group to choose from! The Academy of Finance in Raleigh has students seeking internship credit who are eager to work! Internships can either be paid or unpaid and take place during the summer months or a few hours a week during the school year. Please review the attached information on the program and their contacts for the program.
It’s that time of year again where employees are able to enroll in the Voluntary AD&D / Travel Assistance Program sponsored by Community Bank Services. The semi-annual open enrollment allows employers and employees to enroll in benefits and make changes to their Voluntary AD&D plan each year in March and September. Underwritten by Zurich, the voluntary AD&D program provides enhanced benefits at low group rates. Please see the following plan highlights:
For more information, including rates, please contact Lauren Perry with CBS (lauren@ncbankers.org / 800/662-7044).
Gen Z is the most highly connected, globally aware, and digitally savvy group in history. While they may be named for the last letter of the alphabet, they represent the future of North Carolina. This cohort will be our state's next wave of business leaders, CEOs and decision makers, and they are revolutionizing our workplaces, markets and communities. Is the banking industry prepared for a new generation of workers and consumers who think and interact with the world very differently than the generations before them?
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Learn more about this cohort, and their unique abilities, aspirations and preferences at the 27th Annual Emerging Issues Forum on February 6-7 at the Raleigh Convention Center for a conversation about this generation and their effect on our state, our workforce, and our economic competitiveness. |
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Community Bank Services is pleased to announce the endorsement of Spectrum Energy Group (SEG), a leading provider of renewable energy solutions. SEG is an experienced, full service, and comprehensive resource for turnkey renewable energy solutions, specializing in commercial, industrial, and institutional solar photovoltaic, solar hot water, and project consulting. These energy initiatives have the power to transform your brand and how the world sees your business, creating positive awareness, new growth sectors, and market opportunities.
SEG is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Through a unique combination of technical expertise and deep industry knowledge, SEG provides clients with unique renewable energy insights, independent perspective, and a strategic path forward to address the energy challenges of their business. SEG specializes in grid-tied solar electric design and installation, offering the latest technology, state of the art equipment, and financing opportunities for all commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. The company performs a wide array of commercial solar applications including energy use audits, financial and return analysis, system design, and installation. And they are serious about customer service. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, in conjunction with renewable energy projects and other initiatives, are designed to provide long-term benefits to employees, customers, shareholders, partners and the community. SEG will work within your organization’s current CSR initiatives, or can advise and help you implement a CSR policy integrated within your company and aligned with your business strategies and key performance metrics.
For more information, please contact Mark Norton, Managing Director of SEG (919/828-2289 / mark@spectrumenergygroup.com) or Janice Royster (800/662-7044 / janice@ncbankers.org).
The needs are real! The kids are here, the opportunity is here ... the only thing we lack is financial support!! This summer, we will have 400 children eagerly awaiting their turn to attend one of our four week-long programs at Vade Mecum Springs. The needs are there ... the kids are there! Please help us by sending your donation ($350 per camper) so that each of these deserving middle schoolers can attend Camp Challenge in July. These kids are from YOUR county! Attached to today's Bulletin is our Camp Challenge Honor Roll listing of those who have made donations to send kids to Camp Challenge this summer. Contact Ellis Weber for details on giving (ellis@ncbankers.org or 800/662-7044).
The Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act (H.R. 3461) continues to gain cosponsors. The total is now 78 (62 Republicans and 16 Democrats). H.R. 3461 would ensure that banks receive timely examination reports, including full documentation of the information regulators used to make their determinations, and it would provide new standards for examinations. It also would establish a new, independent inter-agency ombudsman within the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to ensure the consistency and quality of all exams and would create a process for banks to appeal examination decisions without fear of reprisal. The members of the North Carolina delegation who are cosponsoring the legislation are Representatives Ellmers, Jones, Foxx, McIntyre, Kissell, and McHenry. The House Financial Services Financial Institutions Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for February 1 on the bill. We still need the support of Representatives Butterfield, Coble, Miller, Myrick, Price, Schuler, and Watt. Please send a letter to Congress on this issue. You can use this link to send an electronic letter. You can also use the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121 or the locator tool at www.house.gov to contact your representative. We have also provided a background document on our website that incorporates an ABA summary of the legislation. If you have questions, please contact Nathan Batts (nathan@ncbankers.org) or Meghan Best (meghan@ncbankers.org).
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a final rule requiring remittance-transfer providers to disclose to consumers information on fees, the exchange rate and the amount that will be received. It also requires providers to investigate if a consumer reports a problem with a transfer. For certain errors, consumers can receive a refund, or a free transfer of the money that did not arrive as promised. The rule — mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act — goes into effect in January, 2013. In related news, the CFPB also issued a proposed rule that would narrow the “remittance transfer provider” definition. There will be a 60-day comment period following the proposed rule’s publication in the Federal Register.
On January 24, 1961, a B-52 bomber from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base crashed near Goldsboro. Warheads aboard could have detonated, and later revelations suggested the incident was the closest the nation has come to suffering an atomic weapon disaster. Defense Department reports made public in 1980 indicated one of the 24-megaton bombs snagged in a tree and was only a final safety catch away from detonation. Eastern North Carolina would have experienced an explosion 1,800 times more powerful than the one leveling Hiroshima. Crew members from the base collected debris from the crash site for more than four months, digging a hole 50' deep, but one piece of uranium remains unaccounted for.
The FDIC will hold a conference entitled “The Future of Community Banking” in Arlington, VA, on February 16 from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. This invitation only conference will provide a forum for community bank stakeholders to explore the unique role community banks play in the country’s economy and the challenges and opportunities this segment of the banking industry faces. The conference agenda is attached, as well as information about the FDIC’s Community Banking Initiatives. The conference will be webcast on the Internet. If you have any questions about the conference, please submit them to the FDIC’s community banking initiatives public mailbox: communitybanking@fdic.gov.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will explore the possibility of exempting smaller banks from some of its rules, CFPB Director Richard Cordray told a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee. Cordray said the Bureau may consider setting a minimum asset size to exclude community banks from new rules, and he added that the agency also will analyze how its rules would affect banks with fewer than $10 billion in assets. Cordray also assured lawmakers that the CFPB wouldn’t abuse its power and promised that the agency would take action only against companies that break the law. “It … is not our intention to start going off and acting like we’re some sort of mini-Congress, just doing anything we think is good and right,” he said.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require national banks and federal savings associations with more than $10 billion in total consolidated assets to conduct annual capital-adequacy stress tests. The Dodd-Frank Act-mandated proposal defines the term “stress test”; establishes methodologies for conducting stress tests that provide for three different sets of conditions, including baseline, adverse and severely adverse conditions; establishes the form and content of a stress-test regulatory report; and requires covered banks to publish a summary of stress-test results. The proposal is similar to those the FDIC issued last week and the Federal Reserve published in December. There will be a 60-day comment period on the OCC proposal after its publication in the Federal Register.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing February 15 to examine the constitutionality of President Obama’s use of recess appointments to install Richard Cordray as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director and three other individuals as National Labor Relations Board members. The recess appointments set a “dangerous precedent for future administrations that want to avoid transparency and the constitutional role of the Senate to vote on certain nominations,” committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) said in a statement. Meanwhile, press reports indicate that Senate Republicans won't launch a direct legal challenge to President Obama's use of the recess appointments but they may still file a brief to support legal challenges from companies or other external groups.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate their rulemaking and enforcement activities. The CFPB and FTC agreed to meet regularly; inform each other before starting an investigation or bringing an enforcement action against a company; consult on rulemaking and guidance; share consumer complaints; and cooperate on consumer education efforts.
President Obama used part of his State of the Union Address to propose legislation that would allow all homeowners who are current on their mortgage loans to refinance at record-low rates. “I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low rates,” Obama said. “No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit and will give those banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust.” The President’s plan sounds much like one that he announced in October that would allow homeowners who have mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance without getting a new appraisal or a full credit check. Under that earlier proposal, only those who obtained a mortgage before May 31, 2009, and had not refinanced previously under the Home Affordable Refinance Program would be eligible. Also, the loan-to-value ratio could not exceed 80% and the borrower had to have good credit and could not have had a late payment in the past six months and no more than one late payment in the past 12 months. It is unclear how similar the President’s proposal will be to the one from last year. The mechanics, costs and other details will be revealed in the coming days. A fee on financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets would fund any program losses on refinanced loans. Many of the President's comments showed that he is once again painting all banks with the same broad brush.
Goldman Sachs has lowered compensation per employee by 15% to $367,057. This reflects the tough times experienced by investment banks and securities firms since last spring. Last year, Goldman employees received an average of $430,700.
The President also used his State of the Union Address to discuss the new “living will” requirements for large financial institutions and ramped up investigations into fraud and abusive lending. “[I]f you are a big bank or financial institution, you’re no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers’ deposits,” Obama said. “You’re required to write out a “living will” that details exactly how you’ll pay the bills if you fail — because the rest of us are not bailing you out ever again. And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices — those days are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.” The President added that he plans to establish a Financial Crimes Unit of investigators to crack down on fraud by financial firms, and he is asking the Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into abusive lending and the packaging of risky mortgages. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union Address and blamed President Obama’s “grand experiment in trickle-down government” for holding back, rather than speeding, the country’s economic recovery.
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Inspired by the tragedy of Eve Carson, bank security officers gathered in the NCBA's boardroom to discuss new, innovative security enhancements that would help reduce ATM robberies and aid law enforcement officers in investigating these crimes. The state’s banks are working hard on ways to implement any new security measure, device, or procedure that will protect its customers. |
A group of bank security experts met at the NCBA on Tuesday to discuss ATM security. The goal of the meeting was to find ways to prevent and reduce the incidence of ATM robberies, particularly those like the one that claimed the life of UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Eve Carson. The group noted that one of the major challenges is the lack of good statistics on ATM robberies. The group identified three primary areas where greater attention needs to be focused: 1) possible reforms to the criminal justice system, particularly in the area of penalties for various bank crimes, such as ATM robbery and skimming attacks, and the probation process, 2) messaging to the public, in partnership with law enforcement, on how individuals can protect themselves from crime, and 3) environmental design and the formulation of best practices to reduce the likelihood of ATM robberies being committed. We would like to thank those who participated in the discussion. Your NCBA will work on finding solutions to this important issue.
We would be remiss if we didn’t give a proper birthday shout-out to one of our all-time favorite recording artists, Bobby “Blue” Bland. Bobby, known to some as the “Lion of the Blues,” will turn 82 tomorrow. “Turn On Your Love Light” is still a jam.
That is what U.S. House Democrats hope to see as a way to stimulate the economy. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director, Ed DeMarco, said in testimony late last year that his agency could provide Congress with an analysis that shows why principal reductions on Fannie and Freddie mortgages are a worse outcome for taxpayers than foreclosures. But the FHFA has yet to provide that analysis. So, some Democrats are asking Republican Chairman Darrell Issa to issue a subpoena that would require the agency to turn over its analysis to Congress. House Republicans have generally been supportive of DeMarco and hostile to the idea of principal reductions.
A new report reveals that total online fraud was up 1% to $3.4 billion in 2011. Approximately 0.6% of transactions are fraudulent. Valid orders with merchants average $150, while fraudulent orders are on average $250. The report notes that merchants have been slower to embrace the automated review processes that are common in the banking industry, with roughly 52% of current merchant fraud prevention and detection budgets going toward manual review.
An Op-Ed article in American Banker this week presents a clever analogy. The author describes how English warplanes returning from bombing runs during World War II were examined to determine where the most bullet holes were. In an effort to save the lives of more pilots and their crews, the initial response was to add more armor to the areas that had the most bullet holes. Some critical thinkers ultimately prevailed, however, in convincing leaders to take the opposite approach. They reasoned that planes that did not return must have been hit in other, more vulnerable areas. They theorized that if they could identify and armor these vulnerable areas, they could increase the survivability of their aircraft without weighting down the plane with armor in areas that were not needed and would make the planes more difficult to control. Carrying that analogy forward to the financial sector, the author pointed to the regulatory response to concentrations in commercial real estate and suggested that, in setting concentration limits, regulators have taken an initial knee-jerk reaction rather than seeing that if CRE is soundly underwritten and competently administered it can be a conservative, profitable business for a bank. Sometimes, the author suggests, the counterintuitive response is best and it is helpful to have people in a leadership team that challenge groupthink.
Treasury statistics suggest that banks that used Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) capital to repay preferred stock issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) increased small-business lending at a far lower rate than banks that had not received TARP funds. The median former TARP bank increased credit, defined under the program as loans of $10 million or less to businesses with $50 million or less in revenue, by 8.4% from a mid-2010 baseline as of the third quarter, compared to 21.4% for non-TARP banks. Roughly 35.8% of the TARP banks failed to increase small-business loans by more than 2.5%, compared to 18.1% for non-TARP banks. Overall, the TARP banks increased small-business loans by 5.1% during the period to $25.9 billion, while the non-TARP banks increased their small-business loans by 20.9% to $12.7 billion. Banks that rotated out of SBLF accounted for about half of the institutions that received TARP capital.
State Treasurer Janet Cowell announces that effective January 25 the rate of interest charged to banks and savings institutions for state funds invested in certificates of deposit and savings certificates is 3/8.
