Newsflash Mar. 27, 2013
Member News
Final Date Set for Charles Street Bankruptcy Hearing
Bay State Banner
(3-22-13)
After a year of startling disclosures by Charles Street AME church officials, including an estimated $400,000 in misappropriated funds designated for a church pastoral program, U.S. bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey set a final hearing date in the increasingly bitter trial pitting the historic church against OneUnited Bank. The April 12 confirmation hearing will determine whether the court will accept the church’s plan to repay nearly $5.2 million in loans to the nation’s largest black-owned bank as well as additional funds to outstanding creditors. Charles Street attorneys have argued that once the bankruptcy hearings are completed, the church can then finish building its Roxbury Renaissance Center and start generating money by holding wedding receptions and community meetings to repay its debts over a 30-year period. OneUnited attorneys have opposed such repayment plans in large part because of what they have discovered are significant problems with the church’s financial statements that are being used to determine the repayment plan.
Bank2 CEO and President Ross Hill to Give OBU's Minter Lecture
News-Star
(3-20-13)
Ross A. Hill, Founder and CEO of Bank2, will present Oklahoma Baptist University’s 2013 Minter Lectureship in Business, Leadership, and Christian Ministry on Monday, April 8, at 10 a.m. in Bailey Business Center’s Tulsa Royalties Auditorium. The community is invited to attend. The title of Hill’s lecture will be “Leadership Essentials for the 21st Century.” In the 10 years since he founded Bank2, Hill and his team have helped thousands of people and firmly established the institution as a national star in the banking industry. In 2009 and 2010 the American Banking Journal ranked Bank2 as the first and third community bank in the nation, respectively, as measured by the banking industry’s gold standard of return on equity. The Minter Lectureship in American Business Practice is intended to add a sound understanding of the business world to the educational experience of church ministry majors to broaden their ability to minister effectively. The Minter Lectureship was underwritten by 1940 OBU graduate Lloyd G. Minter of Bartlesville. The annual series began in 1991.
Of Interest
Johnson's Departure Could Set Stage for a Schumer Chairmanship at Senate Banking Committee
South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson’s decision to retire from the Senate rather than seek re-election in 2014 will likely trigger a scramble for the chairmanship of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at the beginning of the next Congress. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., appears most likely to succeed Johnson if Democrats retain their Senate majority — a task that Johnson’s departure will make more difficult. A Schumer-led Banking Committee might not differ much from what the industry has grown to expect. Although Schumer has cultivated the support of the financial industry, he’s also been a strong backer of the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul. Schumer tends to be a more partisan Democrat than Johnson, who was always politically vulnerable since he hails from a Republican-leaning state. The clearest loser as a result of Johnson’s departure might be the credit card industry, which has found favorable treatment in South Dakota and counts Johnson as one of its most important allies on Capitol Hill.
Remarks of Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin at NCRC Conference
Governor Bloom Raskin began by discussing the types of jobs being generated in the current recovery. She stated that the pace of recovery in employment has improved, but that it is important to look at the types of jobs that are being created because those jobs will directly affect the fortunes and challenges of households and neighborhoods as well as the course of the recovery. She then suggested that we think about how the absence of a substantial number of new high-paying jobs, when combined with changes in the landscape for financial services, affects access generally to affordable, sustainable credit. Finally, she explored some of the monetary, supervisory, and regulatory touchpoints in which the situation and prospects of low- and moderate-income working Americans can be addressed.
Wall Street Journal Hosts Senator Durbin for Discussion
The Wall Street Journal hosted Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) at the second Seib & Wessel breakfast last Wednesday. The senator answered questions from Gerald F. Seib, Washington bureau chief, David Wessel, global economics editor, and other members of the media. Senator Durbin responded to questions concerning the federal budget, Social Security, drones, and the current political climate in Washington.
Regulators Are Too Tough on Small Banks: House Banking Panel
Members of the House Financial Services Committee raised concerns last Wednesday about the current business environment for small banks, pressing regulators about the lack of bank charters in recent years and the effect of new rules on the industry. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle cited the lack of de novo banks, asking Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials when the industry might start to see a turnaround. "No new banks were charted in 2012, according to the FDIC. We've seen all the closures, we've talked about how important the fabric of lending is to small businesses and farmers … and all these institutions do for our constituents," said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, the chairman of the financial institutions subcommittee, which conducted the hearing. "When you see everything closing and nothing opening, that to me is a red flag that we need to monitor." Others raised similar worries, arguing that new rules could be dampening start-up activity. But officials from the FDIC and the agency's inspector general instead pointed to the cyclicality of the market, which continues to recover from the financial crisis. The FDIC also said they hoped to see renewed charter activity in the near future.
Jobs
Economic and Community Development Institute - Relationship Manager (Columbus, Ohio)
A non-profit 501(c)(3) economic development organization based in Columbus, Ohio seeks an experienced Relationship Manager who will work with startup and existing companies to provide funding opportunities and technical assistance to ensure the success of our clients. The candidate will be responsible for gathering, reviewing, and analyzing all pertinent information, such as financials and business plans, relating to approving a commercial loan application. The perfect candidate should have an existing network of referral sources, five years of experience working in the financial sector, and a passion for seeing entrepreneurs succeed!
Insight Center for Community Economic Development - President and Chief Executive Officer (Oakland, CA)
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development is seeking an outstanding, respected leader to serve as its next President. Insight is a national research, consulting, and legal organization with a mission of helping people and communities become, and remain, economically secure. The position offers the opportunity to provide significant leadership to address the economic insecurity and inequities faced by many in our increasingly diverse country.
Natural Capital Investment Fund - Credit Analyst/Loan Closing Assistant (Winston-Salem, NC)
The Credit Analyst/Loan Closing Assistant reports to and assists the NCIF Director of Lending in building and supporting NCIF's portfolio of triple bottom line businesses. S/he gathers and analyzes financial and business information to determine worthiness of loan or equity applicants, including the identification of risks (market, economic, financial, etc) and strengths. The Credit Analyst/Loan Closing Assistant helps maintain data and files relating to loan applications and portfolio companies and assists in the monitoring and servicing of NCIF's loan and investment portfolio. The Credit Analyst/Loan Closing Assistant will also assist in loan closings and generating closing documents. The Credit Analyst/Loan Closing Assistant would also be responsible for assisting in the risk rating of the loan portfolio and in making annual site visits to portfolio companies. Opportunities exist to take on additional responsibility and authority based on performance.
NCB Capital Impact - Loan Officer (Oakland, CA)
NCB Capital Impact, a not-for-profit lender and technical assistance provider in low-income communities nationwide, seeks a Loan Officer to strengthen its community lending. The Loan Officer is responsible for representing NCB Capital Impact in its lending in underserved communities, focusing in five key sectors --education, health care, healthy foods, housing, and aging-- building on our long history of lending within these sectors. The ideal candidate will have a passion for work in low-income communities, 2-5 years of experience in lending or consulting to not-for-profit organizations, ideally with organizations serving low-income populations, and a track record of relationship development and management. Knowledge of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) is helpful.