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Johnson Bank Exec on a Mission
Posted on January 31st, 2009 No commentsJohnson Bank President and COO Russ Weyers is spending much of his time away from the $5.4 billion-asset bank spreading the message that the banks aren’t the bad guys in the current financial mess. Read the Business Journal of Milwaukee article.
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New Home Sales Lowest Since ’63
Posted on January 30th, 2009 No commentsThe U.S. Census Bureau reports that new home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000 in December. That’s down nearly 15 percent from a revised 388,000 annual rate in November – and the lowest on records dating back to 1963, the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.
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No Industry Spared
Posted on January 30th, 2009 No commentsSince the beginning of the year, companies in southeast Wisconsin have announced plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs across a broad range of sectors. “Every region and every industry is getting hit,” said Marquette University Professor Cheryl Maranto. Read the Business Journal of Milwaukee article.
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Bankruptcy Filings Up 35%
Posted on January 30th, 2009 No commentsBankruptcy filings in Wisconsin increased slightly more than the national average last year – 21,141 filings in 2008 (the large majority of them personal consumer bankruptcies), compared with 15,626 in 2007, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Bremer Foundation Creates Fund
Posted on January 29th, 2009 No commentsThe St. Paul-based Otto Bremer Foundation is spreading $4.2 million to various nonprofits in Minnesota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin to provide direct grants to families and individuals in crisis. The Foundation is unique in that it owns Bremer Financial Corp., which reported a 5.7 percent increase in income in 2008 compared with 2007. Read more at MinnPost.com.
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State Warns of Tax Scams
Posted on January 29th, 2009 No commentsThe state departments of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection and Revenue are warning Wisconsin residents to beware of phone calls or e-mails claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. Read more about tax scams on WKOW Channel 27’s web site.
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DFI: Lending Still Strong
Posted on January 28th, 2009 No commentsWisconsin banks “have aggressively lent money in their communities” during the economic downturn, with a ratio of loans to deposits higher than the national average, Department of Financial Institutions banking administrator Mike Mach told members of a Senate committee. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.
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Leadership Largely Unchanged
Posted on January 27th, 2009 No commentsAt banks that are receiving federal bailout money, nearly nine out of every 10 of the most senior executives from 2006 are still on the job, according to anAssociated Press analysis of regulatory and company documents.
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Slight Rise in Home Sales Predicted
Posted on January 26th, 2009 No commentsReduced prices and low interest rates are expected to increase the sale of existing homes by 1 percent in 2009, according to an economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Southport CEO to Retire
Posted on January 26th, 2009 No commentsKarl Ostby has announced he will retire from his position as president and chief executive officer of Southport Bank in Kenosha. The board of directors is immediately beginning a search for a successor, the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.