1: CAST SERVICE HIGHLIGHT Fee Revenue Optimization
Results-driven revenue optimization analysis and execution
A persistent challenge within the financial service industry is the continued need to create top line revenue growth. The need for revenue generation becomes more acute as industry leaders become aware, once again, of the overall strategic limitations of cost cutting and expense control. Lack of organic growth has contributed to pressures to grow both through acquisition and by broadening into new service offerings. These sometimes disruptive growth tactics can obscure opportunities to improve revenue growth.
Revenue Inhibitors - Lack of cultural emphasis on revenue generation
- Primary focus on cost cutting
- Conflicting and inconsistent alignment of existing products
- Misunderstood customer behavior and preferences
- Inadequate process and controls for collecting fees
- Limited understanding of competitor revenue-related 'learnings' and trends
Why CAST for Fee Revenue Enhancement - Database of proven revenue enhancement practices
- Fact-based, rigorous analysis
- Extensive cross industry experience
- In-depth revenue knowledge:
- Retail banking
- Commercial banking
- Mortgage banking
- Trust
- Brokerage securities
- Insurance
- Results oriented culture
- Collaborative/team approach
If you would like additional information, please contact Tom Vleisides at (213) 614-8066 ext. 244 or email tvleisides@castconsultants.com. Back to Top
2: BANKINSURANCE.COM – Americans Rate Life Insurance as…. ….Most Value-Retentive Investment NEWS IN BRIEF - JUNE 21 - 27, 2010 Three out of four American adults say they prefer to invest in financial products that are safe, steady and secure over the long-term, according to a Northwestern Mutual survey conducted between March 23 and April 26, 2010, before the oil spill off the U.S. Gulf Coast. Only 34% of survey respondents said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with how their overall investments have held up over time, with 37% and 41%, respectively, “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their 401(k)s and homes. Over half (54%) said that their permanent life insurance policies retained the most value among all their investments over time. Northwestern Mutual Executive Vice President Greg Oberland said that despite these findings, “our research indicates that people don’t see permanent life insurance as a product that offers guaranteed growth and a great deal of flexibility. These are major misperceptions, so we – and others in the industry – have some educating to do.” To view the full report, click here. To watch a short video commentary with Mr. Oberland on the report’s findings and applications, click here. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
3: BANKINSURANCE.COM - BB&T’s Mutual Fund Business Thriving NEWS IN BRIEF - June 14 - 20, 2010 BB&T Asset Management saw its long-term mutual fund assets jump 40.9% to $3.1 billion at the end of April 2010 from $2.2 billion at the end of March 2009, according to the American Banker. BB&T distributes its mutual fund family through banks, brokerages, advisors and clearing firms and utilizes the services of four internal and two external wholesalers. BB&T Asset Management Director of Distribution Tony DeLucia said he sees opportunity in the Midwest, Northeast and West and plans to increase the number of external wholesalers in order expand distribution capabilities in those regions, American Banker reports. In 2009, BB&T Corporation, parent company of BB&T Asset Management, reported total assets under management in all proprietary mutual funds and annuities were $4.64 billion, placing it 22nd nationally among the 60 large top-tier bank holding companies reporting such proprietary assets, according to Michael White’s Bank Mutual Fund Fee Income Report. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
4: BANKINSURANCE.COM - Canada’s Finance Minister Drafts ... ...Restrictive Bank Insurance Regulation NEWS IN BRIEF - June 7 - 13, 2010 Canada’s Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty has announced the Finance Department’s intention “to prevent banks from using their web pages to promote non-authorized insurance products, which is not permitted in their branches.” According to draft regulation, banks may promote and provide links to web pages of insurers that offer authorized insurance, i.e., credit and travel insurance, in the business section of their websites. Mention of and links to subsidiaries offering non-authorized life, health, property and casualty insurance, however, may be included only on a bank’s corporate web page, where the bank’s corporate structure and business lines are described but not promoted and where logging in is not required. The Department of Finance will publish its proposed regulation in Part I of the Canada Gazette and is seeking comments from “stakeholders.” To read the draft regulation, click here. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
5: BANKINSURANCE.COM - Federal Banking Regulators Issue... ...Final Guidance on Incentive Compensation NEWS IN BRIEF - JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2010 The Federal Reserve (Fed), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have issued final guidance on incentive compensation. The guidance is designed to ensure that incentive compensation plans at financial institutions do not encourage excessive risk-taking but do encourage long-term performance, are consistent with safe and sound practices and are supported by corporate governance. To read the guidance, which becomes effective upon its publication in the Federal Register, click here. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
6: BANKINSURANCE.COM - FINRA Fines Citigroup Global Markets for Supervisory Failure NEWS IN BRIEF - May 31 - June 6, 2010 The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined New York City-based Citigroup Global Markets (CGM) $750,000 and ordered it to disgorge $750,000 in commissions to certain cemetery trusts in Michigan and Tennessee to settle findings that CGM failed to properly supervise broker Mark Singer and his customers Clayton Smart and Craig Bush, who allegedly schemed to misappropriate over $60 million in cemetery trust funds through CGM. Between 2004 and 2006, FINRA said, CGM managers failed to respond to warnings, understanding the irregular movement of funds handled by Singer, transfers of cemetery trust funds to accounts opened in the names of third parties, misrepresentations using cemetery trusts for Clayton Smart’s personal $24 million line of credit from Citigroup Private Bank, use of personal emails to bypass the firm’s email monitoring system, and trust fund transfers disguised as fictitious investments made on behalf of the cemeteries. CGM parent Citigroup neither admitted nor denied the charges but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings and agreed to pay the fine and disgorgement totaling $1.5 million. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
7: BANKINSURANCE.COM - FINRA Fines Piper Jaffray for Failed Email Retention NEWS IN BRIEF - May 31 - June 6, 2010 The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Minneapolis, MN-based Piper Jaffray $700,000 for failing to retain 4.3 million emails from November 2002 through December 2008 and for failure to inform FINRA of its email retention issues. In November 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), New York Stock Exchange Regulation and NASD had sanctioned Piper Jaffray and ordered it to review its systems and certify that it had established systems and procedures designed to preserve electronic and mail communications. The firm provided that certification in March 2003, and “at no time did it alert regulators that its system was experiencing problems,” FINRA said. FINRA discovered Piper Jaffray’s continued email retention failures when one hard copy of a Piper Jaffray email in the regulator’s possession did not show up in the allegedly complete email files Piper Jaffray had turned over to FINRA in CD-ROM format. Piper Jaffray neither admitted nor denied the charges but consented to an entry of the findings and agreed to pay the fine. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
8: BANKINSURANCE.COM - Lincoln Financial To Exit Tarp NEWS IN BRIEF - JUNE 21 - 27, 2010 Radnor, PA-based Lincoln Financial Group plans to issue $335 million in common stock and up to $750 million in senior notes as part of its plan to repurchase the total $950 million of its preferred shares purchased by the U.S. Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) within the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Lincoln will combine $365 million in cash on hand with $585 million received from the stock issuance to repurchase the shares and will use the remaining $500 million from the stock offering to support its insurance subsidiaries’ universal life reserves. Lincoln will not repurchase Treasury’s warrants for 13 million Lincoln Financial Group common shares at an exercise price of $10.92 per share. Lincoln Financial President and CEO Dennis Glass said, “We are pleased to announce a plan to repurchase Treasury’s investment sooner than originally anticipated.” BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
9: BANKINSURANCE.COM - New York Insurance Agents File Suit to Annul Regulation 194 NEWS IN BRIEF - May 31 - June 6, 2010 The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York (IIABNT) and the Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York (CIBGNY) have filed suit in New York State Supreme Court in Albany to prevent the New York Insurance Department from implementing Regulation 194, which requires insurance brokers to disclose detailed information about their compensation, including what that compensation would have been should the customer have chosen another product. In its Article 78 proceeding IIABNY and CIBGNY have asked the court to annul parts or all of Regulation 194 on the following grounds: (1) The Insurance Department does not have authority to mandate compensation disclosure. (2) The regulation is an impermissible rewrite of insurance law appropriately written by legislators. (3) It imposes massive and unwarranted compliance costs on brokers. (4) And, it violates producers’ rights to due process and equal protection under the New York State and U.S. constitutions. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
10: BANKINSURANCE.COM - Thomas Marra Takes Over Reins at Symetra NEWS IN BRIEF - June 14 - 20, 2010 Former Hartford Financial Services Group President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Marra has replaced Randall Talbot as Bellevue, WA-based Symetra Financial Corp. President and CEO. Marra, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, said that he sees the bank channel as offering Symetra its greatest opportunity for growth. Marra said, “I still think banks are going to be the leading provider of individual life insurance over the long haul.” BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
11: BANKINSURANCE.COM - U.S. Bankers Remain Pessimistic About Economy NEWS IN BRIEF - JUNE 21 - 27, 2010 In May, U.S. bankers were markedly more optimistic that the U.S. economy would improve over the next six months (45%) than they were in December 2009 (24%). In addition, 25% said they expected to do more hiring, up from 18% in December, and 35% expected their local economy to improve, up from 22% in December. Still, the majority expected the U.S. economy to remain the same (44%) or get worse (11%), their local economy to remain the same (56%) or worsen (9%), and hiring to remain the same (59%) or decrease (16%), according to Chicago-based Grant Thornton’s 17th Bank Executive Survey conducted from May 4 through May 24, 2010. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
12: BANKINSURANCE.COM - U.S. Fixed Annuity Sales Tumble in First Quarter NEWS IN BRIEF - May 31 - June 6, 2010 U.S. fixed annuity sales tumbled 52% in the first quarter to $16.7 billion, down from $34.8 billion in first quarter 2009, according to Evanston, IL-based Beacon Research. Book value fixed annuities retained their position as the number one annuity product sold, but dropped 64% to $6.8 billion, down from $17.8 billion in first quarter 2009 to comprise 41% of the fixed annuity market, the product’s lowest market share since third quarter 2009. Indexed annuities ranked a close second with $6.7 billion, down 5% from a year ago. Fixed income annuities ($1.8 billion) and market value adjusted (MVA) annuities ($1.3 billion) ranked distant third and fourth, respectively, with fixed income declining 6% and MVAs dropping 80% compared to a year ago. New York Life was the number one fixed annuity provider overall, and the company’s book value product was the favored fixed annuity in the bank and savings and loan channel, according to Beacon’s Fixed Annuity Premium Study. Beacon Research CEO Jeremy Alexander said, “Fixed annuity sales are down, which typically dampens sales, but sales may benefit from recent stock market volatility and the flight to safety.” He added, “Long term we expect growth for fixed annuities due to rising demand from Baby Boomers nearing and entering retirement.” For more on the Fixed Annuity Premium Study, click here. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
13: BANKINSURANCE.COM - Zurich Insurance to Enter Indonesia’s Bancassurance Market NEWS IN BRIEF - JUNE 21 - 27, 2010 Zurich, Switzerland-based Zurich Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services Group, has agreed to acquire 80% of Jakarta, Indonesia-based PT Mayapada Life from Jakarta-based Mayapada Group, which will continue to own 20% of the insurer. As part of the deal, Zurich-controlled Mayapada Life and Jakarta-based PT Bank Mayapada International (Mayapada Bank) will enter into a long-term bancassurance distribution agreement expanding the current bancassurance relationship between the Mayapada units. Zurich Global Life CEO Mario Greco said, “The acquisition of Mayapada Life is a first step in Zurich Life’s expansion plans in Indonesia. The Mayapada Group will be a strong local partner as we seek to build key relationships to grow our business in the Asia Pacific region.” The deal for PT Mayapada Life, which recorded $1.7 million in gross written premiums in 2009, is expected to close in third quarter 2010, pending regulatory approval. BankInsurance.com News in Brief" is provided each Thursday courtesy of Michael White Associates @ www.BankInsurance.com. Back to Top
14: IT/SYSTEMS - BNY Mellon's Pershing Unit Introduces NetX360™ for iPad™ Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced that it has introduced a version of NetX360™ that is compatible with the Apple® iPad™, the latest application to enable its introducing broker-dealer customers and their investment professionals, as well as registered investment advisors, to access NetX360 via a mobile device. NetX360 is Pershing's innovative, open-architecture technology solution that enables its customers to manage their entire firm's brokerage and advisory business on a single, integrated platform. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bny-mellons-pershing-unit-introduces-netx360-for-ipad-96135959.html Back to Top
15: IT/SYSTEMS - Pershing Affiliate, iNautix, Introduces First End-to-End Paperless… … Annuity Processing Solution for Introducing Broker-Dealers INautix (USA) LLC, an affiliate of Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, announced today that it has developed the first end-to-end paperless imaging solution to streamline annuity processing for Pershing's introducing broker-dealer customers. This innovative solution, available on Pershing's Subscribe® platform, enhances efficiency, reduces cost and improves accuracy and compliance oversight of annuities by automating the current manual, time-intensive, paper-driven application process. The paperless solution allows approved client documents, including any required carrier forms, to be sent electronically to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) for their transmission to the carriers, in lieu of mailing or faxing paper documents. Electronically approved documents are then stored online in a regulatory-compliant format for the required number of years, and provide an online audit trail. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pershing-affiliate-inautix-introduces-first-end-to-end-paperless-annuity-processing-solution-for-introducing-broker-dealers-95421774.html Back to Top
16: K@W - From CEO to Senate: Why Some Executives Make Better Politicians than Other Growing numbers of top business executives appear to be running for political office. Among others, former CEOs Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina recently won California primaries, while promising to use leadership skills and financial acumen honed at private corporations to solve thorny public problems. But experts on leadership and politics say that the leap from one world to the other is fraught with challenges. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2530.cfm Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Back to Top
17: K@W - Human Resources - When Do Exaggerations and Misstatements Cross the Line? Embellishing stories about one's accomplishments or qualifications, whether by exaggeration or misstatement, is part of human nature, experts say, and almost everyone is guilty of it at one time or another. Left unchecked, however, exaggerations that seemed innocuous at first can result in serious, potentially career-ending consequences. Thanks to the Internet, it's easier than ever to get caught in an exaggeration, Wharton experts and others note. But the temptation to embellish has also never been greater, as recession-weary workers feel pressured to justify their worth and a 24-hour news cycle demands that leaders have an immediate, sound-bite-ready answer for everything. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2522.cfm Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Back to Top
18: K@W - Leadership and Change - From CEO to Senate: ... ...Why Some Executives Make Better Politicians than Others Growing numbers of top business executives appear to be running for political office. Among others, former CEOs Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina recently won California primaries, while promising to use leadership skills and financial acumen honed at private corporations to solve thorny public problems. But experts on leadership and politics say that the leap from one world to the other is fraught with challenges. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2530.cfm Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Back to Top
19: K@W - Regulating the Unknown: Can Financial Reform Prevent Another Crisis? Congressional negotiators are ironing out differences in two mammoth financial reform bills -- one passed in the House in December, the other by the Senate in May. Backers say the result will prevent the kinds of excesses that led to the financial crisis. Yet, while some of the measures likely to become law may help, there would still be plenty of risk left in the system, according to several Wharton faculty members. "[The proposed reform] is not, ultimately, a game-changer in terms of preventing a crisis," says Wharton real estate professor Susan M. Wachter. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2516.cfm
Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Back to Top
20: K@W - Special Report - Summer Reading Our summertime reading list includes books that offer insights into the future of print publishing in a digital age, the importance of financial innovation as an engine of growth, and the need for checklists to contain the damage caused by human error. We also chronicle one family's account of helping to combat global poverty, chocolate manufacturers' attempts to crack the vast Chinese market, and a wine lover's visit to the world's most beautiful wine regions. We hope you can find the time and place to enjoy these books. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/special_section.cfm?specialID=100 Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu Back to Top
21: M&A - Fiserv Acquires AdviceAmerica to Expand Investment Services Unit Strategic acquisition extends Fiserv into front-office solutions serving advisors, sponsors and bank trust departments BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that it has acquired AdviceAmerica, a best-in-class provider of integrated advisor solutions to financial institutions and independent advisors. AdviceAmerica will become a strategic part of the Investment Services unit of Fiserv, which is the market leader with the industry-leading technology platform for managed accounts. Financial terms were not disclosed. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100607005987/en/Fiserv-Acquires-AdviceAmerica-Expand-Investment-Services-Unit Back to Top
22: MISCELLANEOUS - Companies - Large and Small - Begin to Face Challenges… … in Meeting Health Care Reform Compliance Small and Mid-Sized Companies Are Turning to HighRoads Technology to Automate the Time-Intensive and Costly Process in Assuring ERISA Compliance BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Since the passage of health care reform, small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) that provide health and welfare benefits to their employees have dreaded the challenge of meeting new health care compliance demands. Meeting these requirements will play a factor in how SMBs will offer employee benefits. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100617005760/en/Companies-%E2%80%93-Large-Small-%E2%80%93-Face-Challenges Back to Top
23: MISCELLANEOUS - How to Get More Benefits from Your Dental Plan No longer does your dental plan need to be the same old boring, same-as-always program that it's been for the last 20 years. Today, dental insurers offer a lot of innovative ways to enhance your benefits, says Jim Edholm, president of Business Benefits Insurance, an employee benefits firm in Andover, Mass. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.insurancebroadcasting.com/insurance-news-061710-14.htm Back to Top
24: MORTGAGE BANKING - Bank of America Begins Implementation of ... ...Principal Reduction Enhancement under National Homeownership Retention Program Qualified Homeowners Who Are Severely Underwater May Earn Forgiveness of Some Principal Over Three or Five Years Bank of America has begun implementation of an earned principal forgiveness approach to modifying certain loans eligible for its National Homeownership Retention Program (NHRP). The plan is being offered to homeowners who owe considerably more on their loan than the current value of their home, when the loan is being considered for modification through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=43&item=8719 Back to Top
25: PERSONNEL CHANGES - Bank of America Names George Sherman… … Chief Technology Officer for Global Banking and Markets and Global Commercial Banking Bank of America announced today that George Sherman has been named chief technology officer for the company’s Global Banking and Markets and Global Commercial Banking businesses. He will be responsible for strategy, architecture, design and build, operations, product management and project delivery of the technology infrastructure that supports that business. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100607006856/en/Bank-America-Names-George-Sherman-Chief-Technology Back to Top
26: PERSONNEL CHANGES - Fifth Third Names Ex-FDIC Chairman William Isaac as Chairman Fifth Third Bancorp named William Isaac as chairman, putting the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. leader in charge of the board after Ohio’s largest bank posted its third straight quarterly loss. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-28/fifth-third-names-ex-fdic-chairman-william-isaac-as-chairman.html Back to Top
27: PERSONNEL CHANGES - Synovus Chairman and CEO Anthony to ... ...Take Medical Leave of Absence President and COO Stelling Named Acting CEO COLUMBUS, Ga.--(Business Wire)-- Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV) announced today that Richard E. Anthony, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, will take a medical leave of absence from his roles, effective immediately. The Board of Directors has named Kessel D. Stelling, Jr., current President and COO, as acting CEO. In addition, the Board has appointed James D. Yancey, Chairman of the Board of Columbus Bank and Trust Company, a division of Synovus Bank, and former Chairman and current member of the Board of Synovus, as acting Chairman of the Board. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100621005958/en/Synovus-Chairman-CEO-Anthony-Medical-Leave-Absence Back to Top
28: PERSONNEL CHANGES - Union Bank Promotes Bradley Shairson… … to Executive Vice President Union Bank, N.A., has promoted Bradley Shairson to Executive Vice President and head of Global Capital Markets. Shairson is based in Los Angeles and reports to Senior Executive Vice President Johannes (Johs) Worsoe, head of Global and Wealth Markets. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: https://www.unionbank.com/company_information/company_information/news/press_release_index/press_releases/ub_promotes_bradley_shairson_to_evp.jsp Back to Top
29: REGULATORY - Congress Weighs Cap on Debit-Card Fees Discounts for paying with cash or check? New fees for swiping a debit card as a credit card? Lower prices for everyone? These are possible outcomes from a raging debate over how much retailers will pay in fees for taking increasingly popular debit cards as credit cards. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100611/BIZ01/6120367/-Boon-or-bust-for-debit-card-users- Back to Top
30: REGULATORY - Countrywide Will Pay $108 Million for Overcharging… … Struggling Homeowners; Loan Servicer Inflated Fees, Mishandled Loans of Borrowers in Bankruptcy Two Countrywide mortgage servicing companies will pay $108 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they collected excessive fees from cash-strapped borrowers who were struggling to keep their homes. The $108 million represents one of the largest judgments imposed in an FTC case, and the largest mortgage servicing case. It will be used to reimburse overcharged homeowners whose loans were serviced by Countrywide before it was acquired by Bank of America in July 2008. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/countrywide.shtm Back to Top
31: REGULATORY - DTCC Begins Aggregating Trade-for-Trade Obligations… … to Reduce Costs and Enhance Efficiencies for the Industry Service Reduces the Number of Trade-for-Trade Transactions Requiring Financial Settlement NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has begun aggregating each side of certain equities transactions that settle outside its systems into one receive and one deliver order to eliminate the need for financial firms to manually settle multiple transactions each day. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100603006027/en/DTCC-Begins-Aggregating-Trade-for-Trade-Obligations-Reduce-Costs Back to Top
32: REGULATORY - FINRA and NYSE Euronext Complete Agreement for FINRA… … to Perform NYSE Regulation's Market Oversight Functions NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that they have completed the previously announced agreement under which FINRA will assume responsibility for performing the market surveillance and enforcement functions currently conducted by NYSE Regulation. The agreement is effective immediately. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100614007007/en/FINRA-NYSE-Euronext-Complete-Agreement-FINRA-Perform Back to Top
33: REGULATORY - KC Fed Leader Urges Return of Glass-Steagall-Type Law… … to Guard Banking System Financial reform should reinstate the separation between riskier investment banking activities and traditional commercial banking, said Thomas Hoenig, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Hoenig declared his position in a letter to U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat who heads the Senate committee reviewing elements of financial reform. Hoenig’s letter made a distinction between banks’ use of derivatives to hedge or manage the risks of their business and the profit-seeking trading of those same instruments. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/11/2010800/kc-fed-leader-urges-return-of.html Back to Top
34: REGULATORY - Regulators Rein In Murky Life Policies The life-insurance business was good to Steven M. Brasner for much of the past decade, so good that he and his wife named their motor yachts after it. Their first, a 34-footer, they christened "Preferred Risk." Its 50-foot replacement: "STOLI on the Docks." LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306440620747882.html Back to Top
35: REPORTS - Michael White-ABIA Report: Banking's Total Insurance Revenue… … Hit Record Level in 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Radnor, PA, and Washington, DC, June 1, 2010 -- The nation's bank holding companies (BHCs) experienced an increase of 38.5 percent in their total insurance revenue from $10.88 billion in 2008 to a record $15.08 billion in 2009. (These figures exclude financial holding company MetLife, a traditional life insurance company that does not engage in significant banking activities.) LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.aba.com/Press+Room/060210InsuranceRevenue.htm Back to Top
36: REPORTS - Report Examines What People Pay For Long-Term Care… … Insurance Protection Most Buyers Under Age 61 Pay Between $500 - $1,500 Per-Year Los Angeles, CA - June 7, 2010 - Over a third (35.4%) of individuals with recently-purchased long-term care insurance protection pay less than $1,499-per-year according to a new report issued today by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance the national trade organization. Among buyers under age 61, 43.5 percent pay less than $1,499 annually, whereas 73.6 percent of buyers between ages 61 and 75 pay $1,500 or more. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=195807&type=lifehealth Back to Top
37: REPORTS - Total Insurance Revenue for Banks Hits Record Level In 2009 The nation’s bank holding companies experienced an increase of 38.5 percent in their total insurance revenue from $10.88 billion in 2008 to a record $15.08 billion in 2009. (These figures exclude financial holding company MetLife, a traditional life insurance company that does not engage in significant banking activities.) LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.aba.com/Pressrss/060210InsuranceRevenue.htm Back to Top
38: RESEARCH - Americans Intend to Remain Disciplined with Finances Spending less, saving more and financial check ups become the new norm DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research from the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM shows Americans intend to remain financially disciplined regardless of economic conditions. Three out of five (61 percent) workers and 55 percent of retirees said they have reduced their spending in the past two months due to the economy, and of those, the majority (79 percent of workers and 84 percent of retirees) intend to continue to spend less in the future regardless of economic conditions. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100623006209/en/Americans-Intend-Remain-Disciplined-Finances Back to Top
39: RESEARCH - Executive Compensation Analysis Reveals High CEO Pay… … for Underperforming Companies Results from Skewed Compensation Peer Groups and Board Indifference Analysis is First-of-a-Kind Utilizing New SEC Compensation Disclosure Requirements NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) Institute and PROXY Governance Inc. (PGI) today released a new study, "Compensation Peer Groups at Companies with High Pay," that identifies a subset of S&P 500 companies with high pay that is not aligned with high performance. The data reveal that high executive pay companies self-select larger than appropriate peers -- in terms of market capitalization and revenue -- for compensation benchmarking purposes. The self-selected peer groups also are better performers. Then, not content with systemically skewing the comparables for the purpose of setting executive compensation, the boards of directors of the high pay companies basically ignore the peer groups to compensate chief executive officers (CEO) an average of more than double, or 103 percent, above the median of the self-selected peer group. By contrast, the baseline, or non-high pay, companies paid CEOs an average of 15 percent lower than the median of benchmarking peers. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100624005383/en/Executive-Compensation-Analysis-Reveals-High-CEO-Pay Back to Top
40: RESEARCH - Industry Study Shows Asset Management Model Is In Transition US to play leading role in investment and administration Alignment of interest will become center stage Subdued asset growth to drive out mediocrity Multi-boutiques to become the dominant operating model Operational excellence will become a cornerstone of the investor's purchasing decision Opportunism in the United States
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An independent study from CREATE-Research, commissioned by Citi's Global Transaction Services and Principal Global Investors (Principal), has found that asset management business models are in transition as the industry adapts to dominant investor concerns about liquidity and capital protection in a new, competitive landscape. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100628005951/en/Industry-Study-Shows-Asset-Management-Model-Transition Back to Top
41: RETIREMENT - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Enhances Retirement Plan Solutions… … for Small Businesses Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors Utilize New Advisor Alliance Capabilities to Help Ensure Retirement Plans Align to Small Business Owner Needs NEW YORK--(Business Wire)-- Bank of America Merrill Lynch today introduced enhancements to its small business retirement plan platform, MLConnect®, to more closely align with small business owners` evolving challenges and priorities. Newly renamed Advisor Alliance, since its launch in 2001 the platform has provided small and mid-sized business clients with a unique combination of Merrill Lynch investment services and affordable recordkeeping and retirement plan administration services from a diverse selection of preferred alliance partners. One of the largest and most successful benefit plan platforms of its kind, Advisor Alliance today serves more than 900,000 individuals from more than 40,000 businesses, representing more than $23 billion in retirement plan assets. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100603005221/en/Bank-America-Merrill-Lynch-Enhances-Retirement-Plan Back to Top
42: RETIREMENT: Financial Advisors Say Living Beyond Means, Not Saving Enough… … and Fear Are Biggest Roadblocks to Financial Security Rebuilding Advice to Americans: Pay Off Debt, Increase Retirement Savings, Spend Less DES MOINES, Iowa--(Business Wire) -- A revealing new survey of financial advisors across the U.S. found that the top three roadblocks to Americans' financial security are living beyond ones means (70 percent), not saving enough (66 percent) and just plain fear (62 percent). LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100607006917/en/Financial-Advisors-Living-Means-Saving-Fear-Biggest Back to Top
43: RETIREMENT - Outliving Your Money Feared More Than Death Allianz Life Study Reveals Boomers Guessing at Retirement Needs MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 90 percent of Baby Boomers feel the United States is facing a retirement crisis, yet most have a limited understanding of how much money they'll need and fear they'll outlive their income according to a new survey* from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). The study, titled Reclaiming the Future: Challenging Retirement Income Perceptions, was conducted in May 2010 with more than 3,200 Baby Boomers ranging in age from 44 to 75. LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100617005912/en/Outliving-Money-Feared-Death Back to Top
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