Tag Archives: banks

Regulators close Memphis bank

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators are closing a small Tennessee bank, marking the second failure of a federally insured bank this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said that Trust Co. Bank of Memphis, Tennessee, was closed Friday,

As of Dec. 31, Trust Co. Bank had about $20.7 million in total assets and $20.3 million in total deposits. It operated four branches.

The Bank of Fayette County of Piperton, Tennessee, agreed to buy about $3.9 million of the failed bank’s assets and assume all of its deposits.

The failure is expected to cost the FDIC $7.2 million.
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Note: News release from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions is below. Continue reading →

Swiss Bank, struggling elsewhere, invests in Nashville

By Eric Schelzig, Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Financial services firm UBS AG on Wednesday announced it will consolidate back office functions in Nashville, creating 1,000 jobs in the city over the next five years.

Kathleen Lynch, the chief operating officer of UBS Group Americas and Wealth Management Americas, said the Swiss bank is investing more than $36 million in the city, where it already employs more than 200 people.

“The global strategy for UBS is to create regional hubs around the world,” she said. “We have hubs in India, China, Poland and Nashville will be the Americas hub.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Mayor Karl Dean lauded the decision to choose Nashville for the center. Both state and local incentives played a role in landing the investment, but both said final details are still being worked out.

“It speaks volumes about Tennessee and about Nashville when a company like UBS chooses to make this kind of investment here,” Haslam said. “We’re thrilled there’s a thousand new jobs in Tennessee.”
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Nashville Councilman Goes to ‘John School’

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Metro Nashville Councilman Brady Banks has been cleared of a charge of patronizing prostitution.
The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/KrI4Hg ) reported the Davidson County district attorney general’s office said Monday that Banks had completed the city’s “john school” for first-time offenders.
Banks reached an agreement with prosecutors that he would complete the course and the charge would be dropped.
The first-term council member could still face some political fallout from his Feb. 16 arrest at a city hotel during an undercover Metro Police prostitution sting.
Banks admitted his mistake, but said he would remain in office. Some residents of his district have talked of trying to recall him.

Nashville Councilman, Tea Party Leader Arrested in Prostitution Sting

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(Note: Updates, replaces earlier post)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Nashville councilman and the founder of a Sumner County tea party group have been charged with patronizing prostitution.
Councilman Brady Banks and Sumner United for Responsible Government co-founder Matthew Moynihan were caught in a sting on Thursday after responding to an Internet advertisement for an escort service, according to a police account reported in The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/zjh0Tr).
The 33-year-old Banks is the outreach director for Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation and a member of Nashville Emerging Leaders.
Charged with Banks and the 38-year-old Moynihan was 37-year-old Jyotin Arora.
Banks and Arora do not have listed phone numbers, and an email to Banks was not immediately answered. A call to the number listed for Moynihan rang unanswered.
A judicial commissioner set each man’s bond at $1,000.

Corker Banks More than $6.5 Million

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Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker raised $1.2 million in campaign money over the last three months, far outpacing his three registered challengers and bringing his balance to more than $6.5 million, reports the Tennessean after reviewing his most recent campaign finance report.
Industries that have contributed generously to the Chattanooga Republican in the past continued to send money his way. Since last November’s election, Corker has received more donations than anyone else in Congress from four industries — general contractors, building materials, the automotive industry and commercial banks — according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
That analysis doesn’t include complete data from the third quarter, but disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission show donors from those four industries continued to fuel Corker’s campaign fund between July 1 and Sept. 30.
Commercial-bank employees and political action committees linked to those banks donated at least $204,400 as of Sept. 30, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the third quarter, more than a dozen banks and financial services institutions donated to Corker, a member of theSenate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Bank of America’s federal PAC donated $4,500, and the Independent Community Bankers of America contributed $5,000.

For Committee Service, ‘Farmer from Frog Jump’ Picks Banking Over Farming

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While he came to political prominence as the “farmer from Frog Jump,” Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., has decided in Washington that he’d rather serve on the committee that deals with banks rather than the committee that deals with agriculture, reports National Journal’s Hotline.
(Fincher) was one of the media’s favorite subjects for profiling in the run-up to the 2010 elections. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, among others, spotlighted the man they dubbed the “Farmer from Frog Jump” and his stewardship of a 2,500-acre farm that’s been in his family for seven generations.
But in Washington, Fincher has a decidedly different priority. Last month, Fincher won a coveted appointment to the House Financial Services Committee — a move that forced him to give up his spot on the Agriculture Committee.
“I am honored to join such a distinguished and prominent committee in the House of Representatives. During these times of economic uncertainty, the House Financial Services Committee will play an important role in creating jobs and fostering an environment that allows businesses to grow,” Fincher said in a press release announcing the move. “I am confident that my real world business experience will bring a strong frame-of-reference to the Committee and assist in developing strong public policy to turn our economy around.”
Fincher will no doubt reap the other great benefit of the Financial Services Committee: It’s a lot more lucrative to serve on a panel that interests banking lobbyists than on a panel that handles agriculture policy. Fincher was one of the better-funded first-time candidates in 2010.
But with a farm bill coming up next year, what would Fincher’s rural constituents — who make up 53 percent of his district — think about his move?
Fincher spokeswoman Sara Sendek tells us: “Financial Services is a tremendous opportunity to allow agriculture interests to be addressed. Access to capital, lending and ability to hedge risk are the cornerstones for agriculture success. Congressman Fincher’s background running his family farm brings forth a perspective that has not been heard on the Committee, especially as Congress is revisiting Dodd-Frank, which would restrict capital once fully implemented.”

Bill Reducing Foreclosure Notices Clears House

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The House voted 72-19 today to scale back on publication of foreclosure notices in newspapers as urged by the Tennessee Bankers Association.
The bill, HB1920, will reduce from three to two the number of times a foreclosure notice must be published. It also will shrink the length of notices by declaring that a full legal description need not be published.
Rep. Jimmy Matlock, R-Lenoir City, who sponsored the bill drafted by the bankers association, said the current requirements unnecessarily drive up costs of foreclosures.
Critics said the bill undermines one of the few safeguards for borrowers in a state that already makes it easier to foreclosure of a property than most other states.
Some said there are still cases where individuals learn their property is facing foreclosure through a newspaper notice, even though the law otherwise required notification by certified mail.
One example offered was where a couple has separated and the spouse receiving the notice does not inform the other, who is responsible for payment. And Rep. Eric Watson, R-Cleveland, said he knew of a situation were an accident sent a homeowner into a nursing home for months, where the mailed notice was not received as a bank moved forward with foreclosure.
On the other hand, Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, who operates radio stations, jokingly suggested the bill be amended to require newspapers to publish foreclosure notices on their front page. Matlock said that would not be practical.
The bill now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.

Consumer Groups Decry Banks Bill to Reduce Foreclosure Notice

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The Tennessee Banking Association is pushing legislation that would reduce foreclosure costs for financial institutions, drawing some criticism in a state where it’s already easier to foreclose on homeowners than in most other states.
Excerpt from a story by Chas Sisk:
One of Tennessee law’s few requirements is that banks have to publish a notice of foreclosure three times in a local newspaper. Banks want to cut detailed information about the property from the listings and reduce the number of times they have to run to just once.
Banks and some state lawmakers say that the advertisements are confusing and rarely read and that they simply add to the cost of foreclosures.
“The only people that are guaranteed to get paid are the newspapers,” said state Rep. Jimmy Matlock, the bill’s main sponsor in the House of Representatives.
But opponents of the bill say the advertising cost is small compared with the sums involved in a mortgage and foreclosure. They argue the requirement is the main way in which the broader community learns a foreclosure will take place, opening new opportunities to save homes from foreclosure and bringing more bidders to the sale if one occurs.
… Foreclosure activity in Tennessee rose more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2008, and it remains high, according to data from RealtyTracs and Moody’s Analytics.
“I can’t say that (the bill) is precipitated by the rise in foreclosures,” said Tim Amos, the TBA’s senior vice president and general counsel. “But it may have created awareness.”
(Note: The bill is HB1920. It’s on the calender for House Judiciary Committee Tuesday.)
.…Eight other House members have signed on as co-sponsors. The group includes House Democratic leader Craig Fitzhugh, a West Tennessee bank executive who serves as the bankers association’s president.
In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by state Sen. Jack Johnson, a former banker and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has expressed limited support for the bill.
Other lawmakers may be sympathetic to the industry. Banks gave more than $200,000 to Tennessee candidates for the state legislature and governor last year, including $184,750 that went to 134 candidates through the TBA’s political action committee. The contributions were in line with the TBA’s donations in previous years.