Wisconsin Banking Update
Providing banking news in Wisconsin that Wisconsin Bankers can use. Keep on top of all the banking issues that are affecting Wisconsin in one place. If you would like to receive these updates by email please subscribe by entering your email address on the right. There is no cost and no obligation.
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Kanavas Leads Venture Capital Initiative
Posted on February 19th, 2011 No commentsAt the request of Gov. Scott Walker, former state Sen. Ted Kanavas is taking the lead in developing a venture capital fund for Wisconsin. Saying the creation of such a fund would contribute significantly to Walker’s goal of creating 250,000 jobs, his staff is laying out an aggressive schedule that would have venture dollars being invested in high-potential, entrepreneurial companies by July 1, according to a memo. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story. -
Inflation Impacts Wis. Manufacturers
Posted on February 19th, 2011 No commentsHaving fought their way through a bruising economic downturn, some businesses in Wisconsin are now facing another fight, this one involving skyrocketing costs for the materials that go into the products they make. The price pressure is a symptom of inflation, and there are several examples of how it’s impacting Wisconsin manufacturers, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. -
Business Leaders Support Walker’s Proposals
Posted on February 19th, 2011 No commentsWisconsin business leaders support Gov. Scott Walker’s proposals to reduce state worker benefits, even if it means weakening bargaining rights for public trade unions in the process, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The state’s biggest pro-business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, called Walker’s proposals “modest.” -
UWM Plans Business Conference
Posted on February 18th, 2011 No commentsThe University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Lubar School of Business will present the daylong seminar “2011 Outlook Conference” on March 24, at the UWM Union. Executives from many companies will speak, including Northwestern Mutual, Stark Investments, Robert W. Baird & Co., Mason Wells, J.P. Morgan Chase, Briggs & Stratton, Cleary Gull Inc. and Generac. Read more in the Small Business Times. -
2010 Bankrupties Up 9.4% from 2009
Posted on January 24th, 2011 No commentsBankruptcy filings in Wisconsin continued to rise in 2010 as more people realized their finances couldn’t outlast the slow economy. There were 29,989 bankruptcy filings in the state last year, the fourth consecutive year in which the number has increased. The 2010 total was up 9.4 percent from 2009. Among those filing in recent months have been people who have burned through their savings and retirement money, according to an attorney interviewed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. -
Manufacturing Signals Economic Rebound
Posted on January 15th, 2011 No commentsWisconsin companies say they have seen a resurgence in factory orders, including work that had gone overseas. Throughout the nation, industrial production increased in December by the largest amount in five months, giving the economy a lift into 2011 and encouraging Wisconsin manufacturers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. -
ABA Committee Predicts 2.1M New Jobs
Posted on January 14th, 2011 No commentsThe American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee anticipates that 2.1 million new jobs will be created in 2011, especially near year’s end, the Business Journal reported. -
Survey: Wis. Businesses Expect Increases
Posted on January 13th, 2011 No commentsAt least 49 percent of businesses throughout Wisconsin predict increased revenue, profitability and wages for 2011. Additionally, 47 percent of companies forecast increasing operating costs for 2011, according to the First Business Economic Survey, sponsored by First Business Bank and conducted by the UW-Madison Business School. Read the bank’s press release on WisBusiness.com. -
Minneapolis Fed Exec Talks About Recovery
Posted on January 11th, 2011 No commentsAmerican companies will produce more goods and services this year than in 2010; employment will be slow to recover through 2012; and “two major headwinds” challenge the economy, said Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He spoke at the annual Wisconsin Economic Forecast Luncheon, sponsored by the Wisconsin Bankers Association. Read the articles in the Wisconsin State Journal and the Business Journal. -
Banker Survey Finds Some Optimism
Posted on January 7th, 2011 No commentsSeventy-six percent of the 106 executives who completed the Wisconsin Bankers Association semiannual Bank CEO Economic Conditions Survey said the state’s economy has “hit bottom” and is improving. That is up from 56 percent six months ago and a reversal from a year ago when 70 percent said the Wisconsin economy was “still weakening,” The Business Journal reported.