Archive for October, 2009

It was a big transaction, bumping the number of bank closures this year to 115. Here’s the press release from the FDIC:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with U.S. Bank, NA, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, to assume all of the deposits and essentially all of the assets of nine failed banks. The nine banks were closed this evening by federal and state bank regulators, which appointed the FDIC as receiver.

The nine banks involved in today’s transaction are: Bank USA, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona; California National Bank, Los Angeles, California; San Diego National Bank, San Diego, California; Pacific National Bank, San Francisco, California; Park National Bank, Chicago, Illinois; Community Bank of Lemont, Lemont, Illinois; North Houston Bank, Houston, Texas; Madisonville State Bank, Madisonville, Texas; and Citizens National Bank, Teague, Texas. As of September 30, 2009, the banks had combined assets of $19.4 billion and deposits of $15.4 billion.

The nine banks had 153 offices, which will reopen as branches of U.S. Bank beginning tomorrow during their normal business hours. Depositors of the nine banks will automatically become depositors of U.S. Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branches until U.S. Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of the nine failed banks.

Over the weekend, depositors of the nine banks can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the banks will continue to be processed. Loan

customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

The FDIC and U.S. Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on approximately $14.4 billion of the combined purchased assets of $18.2 billion. U.S. Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-sharing arrangement is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The agreement also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers who have questions about today’s transaction can contact the FDIC as follows:

These telephone numbers will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m.; on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m.; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The operating hours will follow the local time zone for each bank.

The nine banks were subsidiaries of FBOP Corporation, Oak Park, Illinois. FBOP Corporation was not closed and was not subject to today’s actions.

The FDIC’s Board of Directors issued notices of assessment of cross guaranty liability against Park National Bank and Citizens National Bank. Under statutory authority, the FDIC may assess affiliated banks for losses incurred by the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) from the failure of other banks, such as those owned by FBOP Corporation. Congress granted the FDIC authority in 1989 to reduce the cost to the DIF for the resolution of affiliated institutions owned by the same company. The two banks were unable to pay the amounts assessed and were closed by their chartering authorities.

The FDIC estimates that the cost of the nine banks to the DIF will be a combined $2.5 billion. U.S. Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to alternatives. The failure of the nine banks brings the nation’s total number this year to 115.

Well, I’m finally caught up enough to get back to blog posting.

This week I’ve been seeing plenty of surveys about the holiday shopping season. Below are a few graphs from a press release about Deloitte’s holiday survey. I’ll soon start checking around locally to see what the expectation in Whatcom County, so if you’re a retailer who has noticed some trends heading into the season, let me know.

NEW YORK, October 28, 2009 — After one of the most difficult years on record for retailers and consumers, Americans are more optimistic as the holiday shopping season kicks off, according to Deloitte’s 24th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends.

Fears about the recession are slowly subsiding, with more than half of those surveyed (54 percent) saying they expect the economy will improve in 2010, compared with 28 percent responding favorably last year. The optimism is also starting to show in Americans’ shopping plans. More than half of consumers (51 percent) hope to spend more or the same on the holidays, an improvement from last year’s 41 percent response.

Despite expectations for economic improvement, consumers continue to reduce their spending on gifts. The average number of gifts people plan to purchase declined to 18.2  from 21.5 last year and 23.1 in 2007. The amount consumers plan to spend on gifts is down as well, to $452 compared with $532 in 2008, and $569 in 2007.

Consumers, however, do appear willing to increase their spending on the non-gift items that traditionally account for a smaller portion of the holiday budget. These categories include socializing away from home, entertaining, non-gift clothing and home/holiday furnishings. These increases lift consumers’ total anticipated holiday spend to $1,145, which is a 16 percent increase over last year.

Caution still reigns when it comes to purchasing behavior, as two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers plan to shop differently due to concerns about the economy. These shoppers demonstrated a focus on frugality in their intentions to buy items on sale (74 percent), buy lower-priced items (57 percent) and use more store coupons (54 percent).

Among consumers planning to spend less, worries over job loss and pay reduction rose sharply, doubling to 35 percent this year (from 17 percent in 2008). Concerns about higher food and energy prices, stock market volatility, and an overall concern about the economy have shifted downward, averaging a 21 percentage point drop from 2008.

“Consumers appear to be revisiting shopping categories that they had put on the back burner for a while, and they may be returning because of the need to replenish,” said Stacy Janiak, vice chairman and Deloitte’s U.S. Retail leader. “Over the past several months, we have seen key economic indicators ease from their worst levels, helping to put more resources back into Americans’ pockets. As a result, a cautious upturn in sentiment may draw consumers out of their bunkers, turn their focus away from saving and debt reduction, and encourage them to do some holiday shopping for their homes, family and friends.”

The flu bug has hopefully run its course at home, so I’m back in the office getting caught up on all the business news I missed last week. First, here’s the list of seven banks that closed on Friday, bringing the total to 106 on the year:

Riverview Community Bank, Otsego, Minn.,

Bank of Elmwood, Racine Wisc.

Flagship National Bank, Bradenton, Fla.

Hillcrest Bank, Naples, Fla.

American United Bank, Lawrenceville, Ga.

Partners Bank, Naples, Fla.

First Dupage Bank, Westmont, Ill.

Florida and Georgia continue to be popular on this bank closure list.

I’ll get more posts up soon about local business happenings as I continue to get unburied here at the office.

- Dave

I’ve been on vacation this week, (unfortunately “vacation” has meant taking care of my daughter, who got hit with some sort of bug involving a fever). I’ll be back posting again on Monday, Oct 26.

- Dave

A California bank was closed by government regulators today, making it the 99th bank failure of the year. Here are the details:

San Joaquin Bank of Bakersfield was closed, then taken over by Citizens Bank of Ontario. Estimated cost to the FDIC: $103 million.

Birch Bay Consignment & Thrift opened earlier this month at 4819 Alderson Road (Terrell Creek Landing building) in Birch Bay.

The owners are Pat and Susan Brush, who also share ownership in Birch Bay Hair Care, which is next door.

Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing is available at the store, along with household items, furniture, collectibles, sporting goods and books, according to a company press release.

The store accepts consignment during business hours (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday) and is a drop-off spot for the Birch Bay Food Bank. For details, call 371-3700.

The Ferndale Chamber is adding a business component to its job expo event this year. Details and contact info are pasted below from a press release.

For more info:

Guy Occhiogrosso

Ferndale Chamber of Commerce

360-384-3042

guy@ferndale-chamber.com

www.expo262.com

Ferndale Chamber to host Job & Business Expo

Ferndale, WA – With the success of last year’s first annual Ferndale Job Expo, the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce is hosting the “Ferndale Expo,” which will include both the Job Expo and a new Business Expo.   This one day event will be held on Thursday, October 29^th at the newly remodeled Ferndale Events Center, former location of Emerald Bay Events and Bingo262.

The Job Expo will begin at 11AM and run until 3PM.  This will showcase the employers looking to fill positions in near future.  This will be a great event for those businesses looking to reach out and get a few good employees.  The Ferndale Chamber is working with Work Source to offer job seeker workshops, such as Interviewing and Resume Building.

The Business Expo will begin at 4PM, and continue until 8PM.  This event will be the premier way to introduce your business to the local business community and the greater community of Ferndale.  Also during the Business Expo, the Ferndale Chamber will host a Business After Hours from 6PM until 8PM.  Also during the Business Expo, the Ferndale Chamber will be holding a wine tasting – with the few remaining bottles of 2009 Street Festival Wine.

Registration information can be found at the Ferndale Expo website, www.expo262.com.  All businesses, nonprofits, & organizations from Whatcom County are invited to participate.  Discounts are available for Ferndale Chamber members and to those businesses who exhibit at both expos.  Admission is free for all attendees of the Ferndale Expo.

For more information, please contact the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce.  The Ferndale Chamber of Commerce is committed to improving the image of the business community of Ferndale and greater community at large.

Whatcom County’s monthly property sales are starting to trend like last year, according to a new report from First American Title.

In September there were 172 total property sales in Bellingham, which nearly equals the September 2008 total of 175 sales. Total property sales include residential, commercial, industrial and undeveloped land. This is an improvement from earlier this year, when property sales were down more than 25 percent. Year-to-date, total property sales are down 21.8 percent compared to the same nine months in 2008.

In Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine there were 159 properties sold in September, up from 144 in September 2008. Much of the increase was in used single-family home properties, which was up 31 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date, total property sales in these three communities are down 18.8 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2008.

Here’s a press release about the new owners at Lynden Lube & Auto:

Rob and Cheryl Heerspink, lifelong Lynden residents, recently acquired Lynden Lube & Auto, which provides complete maintenance and repair services for cars and light-duty trucks.

The Heerspinks, both born in Lynden, jumped at the opportunity to buy an established business while maintaining a skilled and experienced staff.

“We’ve appreciated being served by locally owned businesses and will continue offering a high level of customer service here,” said Rob Heerspink, who is managing the business.

Lynden Lube & Auto offers a 15-minute lube and oil change on a first-come, first-served basis. The service by technicians Ken Marshall, Randy Schuyleman and Devon DeBoer includes a 24-point inspection of fluid levels, hoses, belts, tire pressure and air filter, plus vacuuming the interior and cleaning windows.

 Experienced mechanics Brett Camping (12 years) and Chad Vander Yacht (six years) handle repairs and other service tasks, including tune-ups, brakes, cooling systems, alternators, starters and winterizing.

 Lynden Lube & Auto is open at 8181 Guide Meridian, just a half-block south of Front Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information or appointments, call (360) 354-7698.

The Puget Sound Business Journal and The Seattle Times are reporting that Sterling Savings Bank was hit with a cease-and-desist order today by the FDIC and needs to raise capital by Dec. 15. The Times reported the amount they need to raise is $300 million.

Sterling Savings Bank has branches throughout Washington, including Lynden, Blaine and Point Roberts.

The company announced that Harold B. Gilkey is leaving his positions as board chairman, president and CEO of the holding company (Sterling Financial Corp.) and Heidi B. Stanley is stepping down as chairman and CEO of Sterling Savings Bank. Greg Seibly was named CEO of the bank.

I’ll check, but I think there are now 14 banks statewide with cease-and-desist orders. Sterling’s order has a short time-frame (two months) compared to other orders I’ve seen, which were more in the six-month range to meet the requirements.