Calendar Of Events
| Feb. 8-10 | Washington Bank Caucus |
| Feb. 9 | Under Fire in the Trenches, Raleigh |
| Feb. 21-23 |
Intermediate Commercial & Industrial Lending School, Raleigh |
| Feb. 22 | ICBA Securities Seminar, Raleigh |
| Mar. 5 | NCBA Board of Directors Meeting, Greensboro |
| Mar. 5-6 | Bank Directors Assembly, Greensboro |
| Mar. 27 | CBS Benefits Day, Greensboro |
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BUY AMERICAN |
Today’s banking industry continues to need bankers with a solid foundation in the business of banking. As America’s oldest banking school, the North Carolina School of Banking has provided a solid educational foundation for a large number of our state’s current banking leaders. After 76 years, the School is even stronger than ever. The School features a vibrant, current and challenging curriculum ideal for our industry’s upcoming management talent. I encourage you to do your bank and your aspiring middle management talent a favor by enrolling them in the first year of the NC School of Banking, August 5-10 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is an investment that will pay dividends for you and your employees for years to come. 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).
There have been numerous media reports in recent days concerning the proposed nationwide settlement of a foreclosure probe with the largest mortgage servicers. According to these reports, state officials have until February 3 to decide whether to accept the settlement that may total as much as $25 billion. The agreement would set standards for how banks conduct home foreclosures while providing mortgage relief to borrowers. Any accord would be separate from a state-federal probe of mortgage securitization. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto wrote in a January 27 letter to the U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is helping to lead negotiations, seeking more details on the deal. Masto said she needs answers quickly to 38 questions to evaluate the agreement because the sign-on deadline is Febraury 3. All 50 states announced an investigation into bank foreclosure practices in 2010 following allegations that flawed documents were being used in seizing homes. A group of state attorneys general and federal officials have since been negotiating terms of a proposed settlement. The news reports suggest that North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Joseph Smith remains a candidate to serve as monitor to ensure banks comply with terms of the settlement. It remains unclear if any settlement will go forward as some state attorneys general, including most notably California’s Attorney General, have called the settlement inadequate.
A government database has been developed to combat financial fraud schemes that target military members, veterans and their families. Law enforcement officials nationwide will be able to access the Repeat Offenders Against Military Database (ROAM), which is scheduled to go online in early February, to track enforcement actions against companies and individuals who repeatedly scam military personnel.
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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 Charles Clotfelter. Mr. Clotfelter is the Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy Studies and Professor of Economics and Law at Duke University, where he has taught since 1979. He is also director of the Center for the Study of Philanthropy and Voluntarism at Duke and is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. His major research interests are in the economics of education, the nonprofit sector, public finance and tax policy. With us, he's going to talk BIG Time Sports! | |
| Bank directors must be well-informed and up-to-date with industry trends in order to adequately perform their jobs and contribute to the success of the bank. In order to become and remain expert in the financial industry, bank directors MUST participate in comprehensive training. We continue to believe that each bank should bring its entire board of directors to this annual conference. A tentative agenda and registration information are attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information, please contact our Meetings Department at 800/662-7044. | ||
The average temperature in the month of January in North Carolina was 5° above normal. While it has seemed like an unusually warm January, statistics show that the temperature for the month of January in 1951 was 9° higher than normal. Climatologists say that warm weather zones are continuing to move north. Those changes don't just bring more moderate temperatures but also bugs and other pests not known in the formerly colder climates. In Ohio, parts of the state are now classified to be warm enough for gardeners to grow a banana plant!
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner does not expect to remain in office if President Obama is re-elected. “He’s not going to ask me to stay on. I’m pretty confident,” he said in an interview. Secretary Geithner is the only remaining member of the Obama Administration’s original economic team.
The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will be extended one year through December 31, 2013, and it will be expanded to help more homeowners. HAMP will offer another evaluation opportunity with more flexible debt-to-income criteria to help borrowers with higher secondary-debt levels qualify for loan modifications. The program will expand eligibility to cover properties that tenants currently occupy and vacant properties that borrowers intend to rent. To encourage more investors to consider or expand principal-reduction modifications under HAMP, Treasury will triple incentives by paying from 18 to 63 cents on the dollar, depending on the degree of change in the loan-to-value ratio. Treasury has informed the Federal Housing Finance Agency that it will pay incentives to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac if they allow servicers to forgive principal in conjunction with HAMP modifications. The Obama Administration also unveiled a proposal yesterday that would allow certain homeowners who are current on their mortgages to refinance. In order to qualify for the program, borrowers would have to have a minimum credit score of 580 and a loan that is no larger than the Federal Housing Administration's limits, which range from $271,050 to $729,750. Borrowers would also have to be current on their last six mortgage payments and have no more than one delinquency in the previous six months. The FHA would guarantee the loans. If enacted, the program is estimated to cost between $5 billion and $10 billion. It would be paid for by a "financial crisis responsibility fee," which imposes a fee on the largest financial institutions based on their size and the riskiness of their activities.
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Are you tired of the stress of your daily routine? Do you constantly feel as though you are rushing from one place to another? Get away from your hectic life and join us at the 116th Annual Convention June 16-20 at The Hilton Head Marriott Resort! Hilton Head is the perfect place to bring your whole family. As the closest resort to the beach, the deluxe guest rooms at the Marriott Resort provide the best ocean views that Hilton Head Island has to offer! Be sure to reserve your room today! We have put together a first class program for you this year. Featured speakers include Kel Kelly, Chairman, American Bankers Association; Tom Brown, Co-Founder, Bankstocks.com; Mark Olson, Co-Chairman, Treliant Risk Advisors; Jim Rohr, Chairman and CEO, The PNC Financial Services Group, and Kelly King, Chairman & CEO, BB&T. Registration materials are attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information please contact Blair Jernigan (blair@ncbankers.org) at 800/662-7044. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its first semiannual report to Congress that outlines the agency’s activities during its first six months. The Bureau has hired more than 750 employees, including more than 230 who transferred from federal banking regulators and other agencies. It has fielded 13,210 consumer complaints. Some 9,307 complaints involved credit cards, while another 2,326 pertained to mortgages. Seventy-five percent of them have been sent to companies for review and 55%, so far, have been resolved.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Richard Shelby (R-AL) at the hearing yesterday raised concerns about the CFPB imposing costly new rules without seeking public input. Shelby noted, for example, that the CFPB's own analysis shows that businesses will spend more than 7.6 million hours complying with a rule to improve the price transparency of foreign remittances. Rather than conduct a cost-benefit analysis, the bureau has indicated that it will impose the rule and examine its impact afterward, he said. CFPB Director Richard Cordray countered that the rule's costs are worth the benefit of protecting consumers. "Our understanding is it will cost a quarter for every $100 of remittance transfers," Cordray said. "That's a small price to pay for the fact there's never been any consumer protections for people who sent money overseas.” He added that the bureau is required to convene small-business panels before proposing a new rule, but it didn't set up such a panel for the remittance regulation because it inherited the proposal from the Federal Reserve.
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ICBA Securities, an institutional broker/dealer and Endorsed Vendor of Community Bank Services, is presenting an investment seminar exclusively for NCBA members. It will take place February 22 at the Cardinal Club in Raleigh. They will discuss investment strategies and products which community bankers are currently employing. There is no cost. Attendees will earn up to 4 hours of CPE. For more information, please contact Jim Reber, President/CEO (800/422-6442 / jreber@icbasecurities.com) or Janice Royster (800/662-7044 / janice@ncbankers.org).
Europe’s debt crisis has contributed to the cautiousness of U.S. banks to lend, but the crisis has also benefited U.S. banks in the form of a reduction in foreign competition, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of senior loan officers. The quarterly survey found that domestic banks are not easing their lending standards and foreign banks in the U.S. are tightening up. Simultaneously, almost a third of U.S. banks, including almost half of the largest ones, said reduced competition from Europe had boosted business during the last six months.
Meanwhile, there were encouraging signs of increasing demand to borrow in the U.S. Thirty percent of large banks reported greater demand from companies with $50m in revenue and only 10% reported a decline. Thirty-nine percent of banks reported moderately stronger demand for commercial real estate loans. There was little change in demand for mortgages.
REOdeedwagon.com is officially operational. We hope our members will meaningfully benefit from this new website for marketing and managing REO property. We have been getting lots of inquiries. Listings are starting to come in—we are confident that the site will be a valuable tool. We encourage our members to take advantage of the next couple of months as we offer the listings for free while we build inventory and start driving traffic to REOdeedwagon.com. Please do not hesitate to contact us for help in loading your properties on to the site. Contact Burke Koonce if you need more information (burke@ncbankers.org / 800/662-7044). If you would like to go ahead and get started listing your properties, please review the attached brochure or fill out this simple form or spreadsheet and you’ll be off to the races.
NFL headquarters in New York City mailed tickets to each NFL owner a few days ago. The best of those tickets go for $1,200 with the next priced at $900 and the lowest priced ticket costing $800 ... BC (before scalpers)!
Carolina Premier Bank, Charlotte, has signed an agreement whereby it will purchase the assets and assume the liabilities of two branches (Rock Hill and Blacksburg) from The Palmetto Bank, Greenville, SC. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. Also, Carolina Premier Bank and The Urban League of Central Carolinas are launching a trade name bank in uptown Charlotte to be called Urban League Bank of Central Carolinas, a division of Carolina Premier Bank. Under the joint marketing initiative, Carolina Premier Bank will offer products and services that are branded with the name of Urban League to serve the un-banked and under-banked sectors of the central Carolinas region.
In celebration of its recent stock offering, Asheville Savings Bank (ASBB) President and CEO, Suzanne DeFerie, had the privilege of ringing the NASDAQ stock market closing bell.
PNC's acquisition of RBC (RY) hasn't closed yet, but workers are already getting a jump-start on sign changes at the RBC Center in Raleigh. While the new name won't be official until some time in March, the old signs are coming down due to the time and coordination of doing the installation.
BofA (BAC) Chief Executive, Brian Moynihan, responding to a recent inquiry about cost cutting said, "The bank in 2011 endured a myriad of regulatory changes that crimped revenue. Our costs of operating our whole retail platform as a percent of deposits continues to work down. But, we have to be careful to make sure that the service quality as we do that is well-managed. The focus in consumer banking is to balance our customer and shareholder return needs and to continue to work on our cost structure, reducing branches as we've done this year." Branch sales could accomplish two tasks for BofA: It would shrink the company's $2 trillion balance sheet by carving off some deposits and loans in certain markets. It also would move the needle on BofA's goal to cut expenses on consumer business lines.
Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Canada's second largest lender, may expand wealth management operations in the U.S. as it seeks a broader market for mutual funds and investment advice.
Be sure not to miss CBS Benefits Day this year! Our annual renewal meeting will be held on March 27th in Greensboro at the Airport Marriott. Register early by signing up before March 13th for the early bird registration fee of only $25.00! This program should be attended by all insurance coordinators and human resource directors, even if your institution does not participate in the NCBA benefit program. Registration and continental breakfast begin at 8:00 a.m. The program starts at 8:30 a.m. and will end after lunch by 1:30 p.m. All group employee benefit plans will be featured at this meeting in addition to the renewal changes, wellness & health management solutions, online enrollment, member resources, healthcare reform and much more. Information regarding coverage and the open enrollment will be provided at the annual meeting. CBS Benefits Day will be a great opportunity to learn more about the options available to you and your employees through your trade association! Registration materials are attached to today’s Bulletin. Please contact Lauren Perry with any questions (lauren@ncbankers.org / 800/662-7044).
A senior banking analysts observes that bank branch networks are certain to shrink. He points out that despite declining foot traffic, as a result of online and mobile banking, there are three times as many branches in America today than in 1970. His prediction is that the number of branches has peaked and is on the way down.
Community banks specialize in relationship-based lending. However, successful commercial lending requires a deeper, more objective understanding of your borrower. The Intermediate Commercial and Industrial Lending Course will provide the participant with a deeper knowledge of cash flow analysis and loan structuring for operating companies. This course will be held at Credit Risk Management in Raleigh February 21-24. Topics to be addressed include:
Who should attend: Any participant who has successfully completed the NCBA’s Basic Commercial Lending Course, or a lender, manager, credit officer or executive who has excellent commercial underwriting abilities, tax analysis skills, and an expansive general knowledge of current commercial market risks and opportunities. Register now to receive the early bird rate! The early bird date for this program is February 7. Registration information is attached to today’s Bulletin. For more information, please contact our Meetings Department at 800/662-7044.
The federal banking agencies and the National Credit Union Administration have issued supervisory guidance on allowance for loan and lease losses estimation practices associated with loans and lines of credit secured by junior liens on one-to-four-family residential properties. The agencies said they issued the guidance to reiterate their policy and to remind financial institutions to monitor all credit-quality indicators relevant to credit portfolios — including junior liens such as second mortgages and home equity lines of credit taken out by mortgage borrowers. While the guidance specifically addresses junior liens, it contains principles that apply to estimating the ALLL for all types of loans.
The FDIC has issued revised guidance for payment-processor relationships. The guidance describes the potential risks — including money laundering and fraud — involving account relationships with third-party entities that process payments for telemarketers, online businesses and other merchants. The FDIC emphasized that such relationships require careful due diligence and monitoring. “At a minimum, board-approved policies and programs should assess the financial institution’s risk tolerance for this type of activity, verify the legitimacy of the payment processor’s business operations, determine the character of the payment processor's ownership, and ensure ongoing monitoring of payment processor relationships for suspicious activity,” the guidance said.
Three Republican Members of the Senate Banking Committee said during a hearing this week that they do not plan to block confirmation of the pending nominees to lead the FDIC and the OCC in retaliation for the President’s controversial appointment of Richard Cordray to be Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director. “We must consider every nominee on his merits, and we’ll do this,” Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) said. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) also stated that they would not block the other nominees. The Committee approved in December the nominations of Martin Gruenberg to be FDIC Chairman, Thomas Hoenig to be FDIC Vice Chairman, and Thomas Curry to be Comptroller of the Currency. Their nominations are awaiting Senate floor consideration.
Democrats say they are on schedule to raise the $36.6 million they need to pay for the convention. But they have declined to say how much they have raised so far. They have made it harder on themselves by not accepting any money from corporations, lobbyists, or any contributions of more than $100,000.
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. 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. |
Featured speakers include: Kelly King, Chairman and CEO, BB&T Corporation; Ray Mabus, Secretary of the U.S. Navy; Governor Beverly Perdue; Robert Safian, Editor and Managing Director, Fast Company magazine; Andrew Yang, Founder and President, Venture for America; Cynthia Marshall, President, AT&T North Carolina; Tom Ross, President, University of North Carolina; Sally Jewell, President and CEO, REI; and Ami Dar, Founder and Executive Director of Idealist.org. Registration information is attached to today's Bulletin.
#1 - Results oriented manager with 20+ year record of achievement and experience in banking and financial services. A team player with production minded competencies in both banking and mortgage banking. A proven history of securing key clients, building client loyalty, and enhancing relationships with internal and external clients.
#2 - Highly qualified executive officer with more than 20 years of leadership, financial management and operational experience. Results-focused and effective leader with proven ability to communicate vision and achieve desired results. Proactively identifies and resolves problems – controlling costs, automating systems, selecting and managing vendors, regulatory compliance and maximizing stakeholder value, while delivering superior customer service in a team oriented environment. Advanced computer skills. Strengths in: strategic planning/visioning; profitability improvement; cost control programs; team leadership and collaboration; productivity enhancement; risk management; compliance with regulatory enforcement orders; technology deployment; and systems analysis.
State Treasurer Janet Cowell announces that effective February 1 the rate of interest charged to banks and savings institutions for state funds invested in certificates of deposit and savings certificates is 3/8.
