“Vendor Management Part II: Assessing Vendors - the Do's and Don'ts of ... - Bank Info Security” plus 4 more

Vendor Management Part II: Assessing Vendors - the Do's and Don'ts of ... - Bank Info Security
State closes central Oregon bank - Albany Democrat-Herald
Patriot State Bank - Sampson Independent
Shares in RBS plunge as bank warns of tough years to come - The Independent
Ulster Bank cuts another 250 jobs - Irish Examiner

Vendor Management Part II: Assessing Vendors - the Do's and Don'ts of ... - Bank Info Security

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 11:10 PM PDT

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State closes central Oregon bank - Albany Democrat-Herald

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 06:53 PM PDT

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services Friday ordered the closure of Community First Bank in Prineville and announced its acquisition by Home Federal Bank of Idaho. The department appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver of Community First Bank.

Community First Bank's main office is in Prineville, and it has seven branch offices in Bend, Redmond, Madras, LaPine, and Terrebone. All deposit accounts of Community First Bank are being transferred to Home Federal Bank, and will be available immediately. On Monday, Community First Bank branches will reopen as Home Federal Bank. In the meantime, depositors of Community First Bank can continue to access their accounts through automated teller machine transactions, checks, and debit transactions. Loan customers should make their payments as usual.

"While we are saddened to see Community First Bank close, we are pleased that Home Federal Bank is acquiring the bank, to ensure Central Oregonians continue to have a variety of options for financial services," said Cory Streisinger, director of the department. "Community First Bank depositors should experience a seamless transition as their deposits and loans are transferred to Home Federal Bank."

Community First Bank was founded in 1980. As of March 31, 2009, Community First Bank had total assets of approximately $210 million and total deposits of $178 million. Based in Nampa, Idaho, Home Federal Bank has $660 million in total assets and $376 million in total deposits. Home Federal Bank was founded in 1920 and has 15 branches throughout the Treasure Valley region in southwestern Idaho.

Because Home Federal Bank is acquiring all of Community First Bank's operations n including its deposits, loans, and the majority of its assets n there won't be any losses for former Community First Bank depositors who have deposits exceeding the FDIC Deposit Insurance amount.

David Tatman, administrator of the department's Division of Finance & Corporate Securities, said Community First Bank had been experiencing critically low levels of capital, and ultimately, became insolvent. The bank's problems resulted primarily from a heavy dependence on residential construction loans, many of which were of poorer quality and were not performing or being repaid when the economy deteriorated.

"In these current economic conditions, Community First Bank was not able to resolve these significant issues," Tatman said.

Community banks in Oregon and across the nation continue to face significant challenges due to the downturn in the economy, particularly the real estate market. High levels of nonperforming real estate loans are reducing capital and earnings at many banks.

Community First Bank is the third Oregon bank to close this year and among more than 70 banks in the nation to close this year. Two banks in Oregon closed in February: the deposits of Pinnacle Bank in Beaverton were assumed by Washington Trust Bank of Spokane, Wash., and the deposits of Silver Falls Bank were assumed by Citizens Bank of Corvallis. No Oregon depositor has lost money as the result of a bank closure.

"Although the economy is showing signs of a recovery, it's too soon to say that the banking industry is out of the woods," Streisinger said. "While we don't foresee any more bank closures in the immediate future, additional consolidation among Oregon banks is a possibility as the recession continues."

Streisinger noted that in addition to continued softness in the residential real estate market, increased weakness in commercial income property is making it difficult for banks to recover from the downturn.

"The coming months may continue to be challenging, but we remain confident that most of Oregon's community banks will emerge from the downturn strong and continue to serve their communities for many years to come," she said.

The FDIC has established a Web site and a toll-free phone number to answer questions from depositors, creditors, and other interested parties regarding the receivership of Community First Bank. The Web site is http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/community-prineville.html, and the toll-free phone number is 1-800-913-3062. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9 p.m., PDT; on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., PDT; on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., PDT; and thereafter from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., PDT.

Deposits of all banks are now insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. Special rules are in place for accounts held in trust status, joint accounts, and non-interest bearing transaction accounts that may further expand deposit insurance coverage. You can find additional information on FDIC Deposit Insurance and other protections for your financial accounts at http://egov.oregon.gov/DCBS/safe_money.shtml.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. The department's Division of Finance and Corporate Securities regulates Oregon financial institutions. For more information on Oregon banks as well as frequently asked questions about today's transaction, visit www.dfcs.oregon.gov.

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Patriot State Bank - Sampson Independent

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 07:21 PM PDT

Patriot State Bank in Clinton, North Carolina, offers local, personal banking, mortgage, and loan services.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to provide you with personal and business banking services. As a locally owned and operated community bank, our experienced team of associates has pledged to meet the banking needs of our customers and community, and will make every effort to provide our marketplace with outstanding personal service at every level.

We offer our personal and business customers a complete range of banking products and financial services, each structured to help meet the daily needs of your home, family or business.

Our objective is to assist our customers in achieving their financial goals through the products and services outlined in this brochure. Should you have any questions, please consult with one of our Customer Service Representatives for more detailed information. We want to thank you again for choosing Patriot State Bank as your banking partner, and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

See us for all your financial needs:

checking and savings accounts certificates of deposit home equity lines of credit personal loans commercial loans and business lines of credit credit card services merchant card services residential and commercial construction loans individual retirement accounts.

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Shares in RBS plunge as bank warns of tough years to come - The Independent

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 06:10 PM PDT

The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday gave a sobering assessment of the company's prospects over the next two years, warning that results would be "poor", as the bank reported a £7.5bn hit from bad debts.

Stephen Hester said provisions against bad loans were set to increase in the coming months and admitted the bank would probably have to call on taxpayers for yet more cash through the Government's asset guarantee scheme. RBS shares closed down 6.5p at 47p last night. The Government paid £20.5bn for a 70 per cent stake at an average of 50.5p per share.

"Even if the economy starts to turn up the headwinds will be formidable," Mr Hester warned. "The green shoots are short in duration and you need to be cautious about interpreting them. Even if growth returns, unemployment will rise for some time afterwards and [loan] impairments will rise. It will take five years for this bank to be in the state that we want it to be in."

His statement came in stark contrast to that earlier this week from Lloyds TSB, which is 43 per cent owned by the state, and whose chief executive Eric Daniels said he believed its bad debts had peaked.

RBS surprised some City analysts by reporting a pre-tax profit of £15m for the first six months of the year in its 204-page results statement. But that was largely due to one-off accounting quirks – its operating profit actually showed a loss of £3.3bn.

The company's investment banking division has benefited from its powerful position in the bond markets, which have seen unusually high levels of activity as governments have borrowed heavily to fund stimulus packages.

This helped to cushion RBS against the heavy losses it made on bad loans but is not likely to prove sustainable. However, it will likely see bumper payouts for staff at the investment bank, some of whom are on guaranteed bonuses. Mr Hester defended this, saying: "People don't always feel secure if we want them to come here. There are people who might be leaving who we need to retain. For the taxpayer to make a profit we need to hire the best people." He said the rate of attrition in the bank's top staff had doubled and hiring was "proving tough" and no guarantees were offered for more than a year.

Mr Hester also said rising levels of bad loans made the asset guarantee scheme essential if RBS was to pass stress tests demanded by the Financial Services Authority. He has split the bank into a core business, where operating profits were up by a third at £6.2bn, and a non-core "bad" business filled with unstable assets and operations slated for disposal, which lost £9.6bn.

Up to £316bn of assets are likely to be covered by the guarantee scheme, but Mr Hester said there was still haggling to be done over the terms, and that EU approval would be needed. European regulators are also concerned about the bank's dominance in the small business market.

Despite this, Mr Hester insisted RBS was "open for business" and had money to lend to small firms. "If you know of a credit-worthy small company that needs money, send them to us," he said. "We have the money to lend."

Although RBS had refused loans to 30,000 businesses in the first six months of the year, that accounted for only 15 per cent of the total who applied, he insisted.

Despite the downbeat tone of the announcement, Mr Hester said he remained optimistic about the future of RBS and confident that the bank could be put back on its feet with a profit for the taxpayer.

The bank also unveiled Bruce Van Saun, a US banker, as its new chief finance officer. He will play a key role in its future and is likely to be offered a similar pay package to Mr Hester, who could earn up to £10m if he succeeds in returning the business to proftability and its share price rises.