All articles by Charles Davis
Charles Davis
BuzzBanking ties rewards to social media
Texas-based vendor fisoc is offering US community banks and credit unions a new tool to use social media to help them compete with the countrys mega banks
The rise and rise of First Niagara
First Niagara has become one of the largest regional banks in the New York region following an aggressive buying spree, making nearly one acquisition every year for the past decade. It is now a top 50 US bank, having snapped up half of HSBCs underperforming US retail network. Charles Davis reports. One of the fastest-growing retail banks in the United States was a thrift holding company less than two years ago. Buffalo, New York-based First Niagara Financial Group gained approval from the Federal Reserve Board in 2010 to switch its classification from a third charter to a bank holding company charter, and accelerated an aggressive series of acquisitions that continues to this day. Early in 2011, First Niagara finalised the acquisition of Connecticut-based NewAlliance Bancshares, pushing into the ranks of the top 50 banks in the country and giving it a total of 333 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts and assets of more than $31bn
Swarm banking pays off for Extraco
BAI named Extraco Banks’ James Geeslin Maverick Banker of the Year 2011 for driving a top-to-bottom transformation of his banks operations His mission: to simplify the existing branch model to make it easier for customers and staff to do business – and do it more efficiently
Credit unions cash in on Durbin
What began as a trickle has become a torrent. US banks now hope the worst of the damage from the most significant consumer rebellion since the Great Depression has wound its course, while credit unions and community banks hope bank switching has only just begun. As the new federal interchange regulations forced more banks to begin adding fees for debit card usage and to end free current account offers, consumers frustration grew. Credit unions and community banks with assets of less than $10bn are, of course, unaffected by the new law and sought to capitalise on the backlash by targeting new customers. The inertia toward moving out of the banks came in part from the grassroots movement, Bank Transfer Day, on 5 November.
Green Dot makes banking splash
The deal is unprecedented: by a 4-1 margin, the Fed has for the first time allowed a marketer of prepaid cards to acquire a bank. Green Dots purchase of £37m ($58m) asset-strong Bonneville Bank does, however, come with conditions. Not least of these is a pledge to maintain a Tier 1 ratio of 15% in its bank for five years. Green Dot must also withhold dividends for three years, and ensure the banks primary source of deposits come from funds from cards purchased by consumers. Los Angeles-based Green Dot has built a prepaid card juggernaut by marketing a wide array of prepaid cards at some 55,000 retail stores, including Wal-Mart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Kmart and Radio Shack.
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Sea change in PFM
The personal in personal financial management might just have to yield to social financial management, as a number of new developments underscore the realities of a wired world. Information once deemed private, and financial activities long deemed personal, are being shared in social networks, changing the way consumers talk about and exchange financial tips and decisions. Its a sea change, said Ken Sun, a mobile products manager at Intuit Personal Finance, who was deeply involved in the development and launch of the new Mint.com iPad application that makes financial management social and collaborative. We see our users managing their finances in collaborative ways, with couples and families sharing information, and the iPads wide screen really helps people peer over it sitting on the couch, Sun says.
Consumer protection standoff beckons
The legislation behind the launch of the Consumer Financial Protection Board has been touted as the most sweeping change to financial regulation in the US since the Great Depression. Elizabeth Warren President Obamas hand-picked choice for the directorship of the agency lost little time in yielding to political realities after it became obvious that Republicans – and more than a few Democrats – were willing to stymie the agencys operations through attempts to change its appropriations structure and other parliamentary stonewalling tactics lest she be named to the permanent director slot. Warren sauntered off to run for the Senate in Massachusetts. Now a full Senate vote on the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the agencys first director has set the stage for a fresh round of political gamesmanship, as Republicans vow to derail his nomination as well.
US price war hots up
Federal rules restricting debit-card swipe charges have led to US banks looking for ways to make up for lost revenue, with Chase, Wells Fargo and most notably Bank of America charging monthly fees to debitcardholders. But the demise of US free checking is greatly exaggerated, reports Charles Davis
In-store branches bear up to Durbin
One of the major US-based supermarket bankers has announced plans to close a host of in-store branches, blaming the effects of the Durbin amendment. But other prominent in-store banking players have stressed the importance of in-store branches to retail strategies and vowed to stay the course. Charles Davis reports.
A golden era for data management?
Banks are drowning in data. Optimising data warehousing, mining and analysis allows banks to turn data into more useful intelligence. Looking to tap into what analysts have described as a golden era for data management, US-start up Zettaset believes it can be a game changer. Charles Davis reports