‘Credit Vise’ Affects Milwaukee-Area Companies

WBA Economic Survey Results Released

WBA: New Scam Targets Cell Phones

Wisconsin consumers need to be prepared for the possibility of a phone scam targeting cell phone users, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) said in a press release on WisBusiness.com. The calls don’t refer to a specific bank, but the recorded message says that the customer’s account has been compromised. The message then asks the person to input his or her debit card number.

Madison-Area Banks Listed by Ratings

In Wisconsin, 14 financial institutions received TheStreet.com ratings of A- or higher at the end of 2009, down from 25 a year earlier. Fifteen were given an E+ or lower, compared to four, for the 2008 fourth quarter. “We don’t put a lot of credence into these (ratings). We see these as fundamentally flawed,” Kurt Bauer, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, told the Wisconsin State Journal article. Read the article.

WBA Economic Forecast: Slow Growth Ahead

While the economy should grow at a rate of about 3 percent, most of the major gains to be had from the stock market rebound already have occurred, University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School Dean Michael Knetter told about 500 business people gathered for the annual Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) Economic Forecast Luncheon at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Other articles:
Wisconsin State Journal
Milwaukee Business Journal
WisBusiness.com
Wisconsin Radio Network

Bill Would Expand Access to Capital

State Rep. Ted Zigmunt, D-Francis Creek, is among co-authors of Assembly Bill 532, which creates a program called the Wisconsin Capital Access Program. The bill aims to expand access to credit for businesses in Wisconsin, reported the Manitwoc Herald Times Reporter. The Community Bankers of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Bankers Association support the bill.

WBA: Most Wisconsin Banks Profitable

Despite national troubles, most Wisconsin banks made a profit, total deposits grew and lending again outpaced the national average, said Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA). “Bank performance numbers typically lag other economic trends, which means banks could see challenging earnings in the 4th quarter and into 2010,” he said in the Milwaukee Small Business Times.

WBA, CBW Issue Release on Bank Closing

�The entire Wisconsin banking community is pleased that the banking regulatory system worked as designed last Friday when the Department of Financial Institutions closed Bank of Elmwood, Racine. Importantly, depositors were protected as there was a seamless transition to Tri City National Bank of Oak Creek. Wisconsin�s banking community expresses its support to the affected employees, directors and shareholders of the Bank of Elmwood,� reads a joint news release from the Wisconsin Bankers Association and the Community Bankers of Wisconsin on WisBusiness.com.

Foreclosure Task Force Makes Recommendations

A bipartisan Wisconsin task force on preventing home foreclosures is recommending legislation that would make state licensing of home appraisers mandatory and require mortgage brokers to put borrowers� financial interests ahead of their own. The Wisconsin Bankers Association supported the recommendations, adding that mortgage brokers be held to �bank-like� standards, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Optimism Required, Wisconsin Banker Says

�To be a banker you need to be optimistic,� says Russ Weyers, president and chief operating officer of Racine�s Johnson Bank. The trouble is, such optimism is scarce right now, the outgoing Wisconsin Bankers Association chair says. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.