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Rural Bankers See Bright Spots
Posted on March 20th, 2009 No commentsRural bankers in 11 Midwest and Plains states say there are some bright spots in the economy. The bankers who responded to the monthly Rural Mainstreet survey cited small increases in farmland prices, new hiring and banking activity in March. Read the Associated Press article.
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Blackhawk Bank Signs On for CPP
Posted on March 20th, 2009 No commentsThe parent company of Beloit’s Blackhawk Bank has become the 12th Wisconsin bank to receive an investment from the U.S. Treasury. The government bought $10 million in preferred stock from Blackhawk Bancorporation Inc. through the Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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Fed Action Boosts Mortgage Activity
Posted on March 19th, 2009 No commentsMortgage lenders saw a spike in refinance applications after the Federal Reserve announced its new plan to buy up to $300 billion of long-term Treasury bonds and purchase $750 billion in additional mortgage-backed securities. That move translated to about a 0.25 percentage point drop on 30-year fixed rates, bringing area rates to less than 5 percent on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Bankers Upset Over FDIC Assessment
Posted on March 18th, 2009 No commentsIt is easy to understand why community bankers are so upset by the special assessment the FDIC has proposed to restore the Deposit Insurance Fund. Whether the assessment is 20 basis points or 10, it will be a major hit to earnings. Many community bankers feel they are being asked to clean up a problem they didn’t create, writes NorthWestern Financial Review Editor Tom Bengtson. Read more on the NFR blog.
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Associated’s Binder Named to ABA Board
Posted on March 18th, 2009 No commentsAssociated Banc-Corp President Lisa B. Binder has been elected to a one-year term on the board of the American Bankers Association, the banking industry’s largest trade group, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. James McKenna, chief executive of Brookfield’s North Shore Bank, also serves on the ABA board.
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Guaranty Issued Cease and Desist Order
Posted on March 17th, 2009 No commentsThe Office of Thrift Supervision has issued a cease and desist order against Milwaukee-based Guaranty Bank. The bank’s board must approve a plan to reduce its levels of poorly performing assets by mid-May, the Milwaukee Small Business Times reported.
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State Selling Bonds to Individuals First
Posted on March 17th, 2009 No commentsThe state began a bond offering in which individual investors can add Wisconsin bonds to their portfolio at an attractive yield two days before the sale is opened up to large players such as insurance companies and pension funds. The state is taking the bond issue to “retail” investors first because turmoil in the financial markets has hurt large investors that typically would buy such bonds, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Central States Not Paying Wages
Posted on March 16th, 2009 No commentsAfter closing abruptly on March 9, Central States Mortgage Co., one of the state’s biggest mortgage lenders with an estimated 220 employees, has cut off health insurance benefits and has not paid some staff for up to five weeks’ worth of work. The state is filing a $3 million wage lien to help workers get their money, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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Central States’ Funds Frozen
Posted on March 12th, 2009 No commentsA circuit court judge froze more than $2 million of Central States Mortgage Co. funds after Associated Bank accused the now-shuttered mortgage lender of fraud for refusing to promptly pay down a loan, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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Student Avoids ‘Pigeon Drop’ Scam
Posted on March 12th, 2009 No commentsA University of Wisconsin-Madison student avoided a “pigeon drop” last week by mingling with a group of other students at an ATM machine instead of handing the $300 she just withdrew over to the “very intimidating” scammer, according to a Capital Times article.