News
American Banker Magazine has included BankPlus in its annual list of Best Banks to Work For, highlighting the bank's commitment to the health of its employees. Working with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the bank has created a telehealth option in which employees can use an office webcam to see doctors for minor ailments. Visits, as well as certain prescriptions, will be free for employees. BankPlus also offers perks like filtered water, scales and premium insurance discounts to employees who pursue wellness. "Hopefully, next year at this time we will have some very impressive numbers," said Dianne Pepper, the bank's human resources director.
CDBA has submitted a comment letter to the CDFI Fund urging a new Capacity Building Initiative on social impact measurement. In the letter, CDBA called attention to the lack of standardization and the absence of an industry wide best practices repository, which both have hampered attempts to develop robust social impact metrics. CDBA recommended addressing these issues by structuring the initiative around two goals: determining the types of impact metrics that are appropriate to collect and promoting cross-industry information sharing. CDBA also recommended the CDFI Fund provide financial and technical support to help defray the costs associated with implementing social impact metrics.
Republicans have won majority control of the Senate, triggering a change of leadership in Senate committees which will once again put Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) at the helm of the Senate Banking Committee. Shelby is a staunch opponent of the Dodd-Frank act whose record is generally friendly to banks and Wall Street. But he has also pushed back on the banking industry, criticizing Wall Street for its role in the financial crisis. He also opposed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall provision, a firewall between investment and commercial banking. Shelby will likely focus on issues with bipartisan support to minimize risk of filibuster and presidential veto. Among his likely goals are eliminating the director’s job at the CFPB and requiring more disclosure by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
A new study finds that Millennials are interested in local banking and would prefer to bank with locally owned and operated community institutions. The study found that 46 percent of Millennials feel banking with a locally owned banking institution is important. Of the age groups surveyed, Millennials were the most entrepreneurial, with 41 percent of saying they are very interested in starting up their own business, compared with 34 percent of Gen Xers and 17 percent of Boomers. Over 60 percent of Millennials who intend to start their own business hope to do so within the next two years.
Kat Taylor of Beneficial State Bank spoke earlier this week at a networking event that connected startups, social entrepreneurs and nonprofits with impact lenders. The event was hosted by Hatch, a social incubator in Portland, Oregon. The program offers lenders an opportunity to learn about the needs of prospective clients and gives participants a chance to meet socially-minded financiers. Taylor said the lenders share a mission to build nurturing economies as much as business. In addition to Beneficial State Bank, lenders present included Albina Community Bank, Craft3, Hatch, Kiva Zip, Mercy Corps, the Portland Development Commission and the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs.
Melvin Watt, Federal Housing Finance Agency chief, has announced a program offering more reassurances to mortgage banks that fear they could suffer unpredictable losses on the loans they sell to the government. The housing finance agency intends to relax the agreements that determine when Fannie and Freddie may require banks to buy back bad loans. Under the new program, the agencies would only demand buybacks when there is a pattern of misrepresentations and inaccuracies in the loans. The move is intended to reassure banks that have had to pay tens of billions of dollars to settle legal cases arising from the housing boom and bust and buy back bad loans sold to Fannie and Freddie.
The Boston Fed discussed new approaches to income inequality at a conference earlier this week. At the event, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen expressed concern about the rapidly increasing wealth of the richest Americans at a time when living standards for most Americans remained stagnant. Eric Rosengren, the Boston Fed president, discussed its Working Cities Challenge program, which challenged officials, nonprofits and business leaders in Massachusetts cities to collaborate on three-year plans to help transform their neighborhoods. The conference focused on the systemic causes of inequality, tracing the effects of educational disparities, declining civic collaboration and racial bias.
In an op-ed, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) urged regulatory reform to reduce the burden on small banks. "Institutions are faced with a choice: shift resources around to accommodate regulatory compliance, or pass the compliance cost on to consumers. Whether the bank decides to close a local branch or stop offering free checking accounts, consumers lose in either scenario," Crapo wrote. Crapo called on regulators to hold a series of outreach meetings with community bankers around the country leading up to regulators' upcoming review of burdensome banking regulations. Crapo also urged the appointing of a director of the review process who could overrule the objections of individual agencies and resolve interagency disputes.
Rose Wageman, executive vice president and chief lending officer at First Eagle Bank, was profiled by Illinois Real Estate Journal earlier this month. Wageman noted that last year was a record year for First Eagle, with loan growth up 30%. "We do a lot of construction lending and the market is hot right now,” she said. “Projects are selling out very quickly at every price point. Lots of builders are coming back into the market. When I drive through some neighborhoods, it seems there are new projects on every block... The best part of my job is working with customers, many of whom have been clients for 20-plus years,” Wageman said.
Broadway Financial Corporation, parent of Broadway Federal Bank, f.s.b., has advanced its recapitalization effort by raising additional common equity and extending the maturity of its floating rate junior subordinated debentures. The sale raised about $9.7 million of new equity capital from investors led by an entity affiliated with Gapstow Capital Partners. The company’s remaining debt now consists solely of $5.1 million of junior subordinated debentures. “In conjunction with the improvements in the quality and performance of our loan portfolio, we are now able to devote our attention to producing profitable growth and enhancing operations for our investors,” said Broadway Financial CEO Wayne-Kent Bradshaw.