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Loan-Loss Worries Mount
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsMilwaukee-area community banks increased by 41 percent their set-aside for potential bad loans in late 2008. The fourth-quarter 2008 figure caps a year when Milwaukee-area community banks boosted their loan-loss provisions by a whopping 450 percent over the figure at the end of 2007. The year-end total was $213.3 million, compared with $38.8 million a year earlier, the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.
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Wis. Mutual Funds Down
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsThe awful start to the stock market year has delivered negative early returns for all 36 Milwaukee-based mutual funds, but as a group they’re doing better than their peers. Major stock indexes were down between 16 percent and 23 percent year-to-date. Read the Business Journal of Milwaukee article.
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Wis. Credit Union Earnings Down 19%
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsEarnings at Wisconsin’s credit unions dropped more than 19 percent last year as the institutions beefed up reserves to cover loans that could go bad, a new report by state regulators shows. Net income for credit unions in 2008 was $91.2 million compared with $112.9 million a year earlier, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. See the Wisconsin State Journal as well.
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CUNA Mutual Survives Tough ’08
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsWhen Jeff Post took over as CEO at CUNA Mutual Group in 2005, he vowed to change what he called the “country club culture” at one of Madison’s largest employers, The Capital Times reported. Post said that while credit unions avoided the mortgage losses experienced elsewhere, the collapse of the auto industry is troubling.
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Johnson Turns Down TARP
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsJohnson Bank in Racine has decided to decline federal TARP money, according to bank President and CEO Richard Hansen. “[I]n the long run it would compromise the things we hold dear including the unique culture of our company,” he told Wisconsin Radio Network. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also had a story on this topic.
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SBA Honors Milwaukee Banker
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsMichael Phillips, vice president at National City Bank in Milwaukee was named the Small Business Administration’s Midwestern regional winner in the “financial services champion” category, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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Wells to Cut Dividend
Posted on March 6th, 2009 No commentsSan Francisco-based Wells Fargo will slash its dividend 85 percent from 34 cents to 5 cents a share. The cut will save the bank an estimated $5 billion a year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.