Texas Banking

There are some areas in the bank that need training, some that require education and still others that should be developed. Training is doing those things bankers have to do to keep the regulators and the board happy. Education is teaching employees those things they need to do their jobs well or better. Professional development is taking the other two areas to the next level. The steps on how to switch from a training to a development organization are: 1. There needs to be a paradigm shift i...

Let's Make a Deal: 2005 Population Growth Made Texas a Hot M&Amp;a Market

While Texas just enjoyed its biggest bank mergers and acquisitions year since the late 1980s, with deal value in 2005 increasing to $3 billion in 32 transactions, it was a lackluster year for bank M&A activity across the US. For the nation as a whole, aggregate deal value dropped to $29 billion for the year, from $131 billion for 2004, making 2005 the second slowest year for bank M&A in the last decade. This decline in transactions is due in part to the continued discrepancy between s...

Tba Education

Political Prowess

Four banker-mayors that brought fiscal responsibility and leadership to their cities are presented. Since Vic Pierson became mayor of Jamaica Beach, a small community surrounded by the city of Galveston, the news media have been singing his praises. Pierson is just one of the many bankers who are making a difference in their communities. Their fiscal responsibility, community involvement and leadership skills have prompted some, like Pierson to take the next step and actually lead their commu...

Let's Make a Deal: 2006 Economic Factors to Push Transaction Activity

During 2005, the pace of banking industry consolidation cooled somewhat. Economic fundamentals have been trending upward the last couple of years. Accordingly, for most institutions, earnings are a function of growth and asset size. The impact of the 338(h)(10) election is also likely to be felt in Texas bank mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2006. To use a 338(h)(10) election, the parties calculate the corporate-level built-in gains tax to be paid by the seller, and then compa...

Chairman's Forum

First Class of Management Development Program Kicks Off

It started out with a vision: TBA would take the state's most promising and talented young bankers and develop them into the leaders who would guide the banking industry into the future. The TBA chairman is proud to report that the Management Development Program's first class has officially formed, and 28 bankers from banks of all sizes and all areas of the state will begin their two-year program this month. They will examine the traits of great leaders, polish their presentation skills, work...

News & Trends

Fc Holdings Closes On Meridian Bank Purchase

Cullen/Frost Acquires Texas Community Bancshares

Bankers Encourage 'Consumer Generation' to Save

Americans are spending everything they are making and more, pushing the national savings rate to the lowest point since the Great Depression, The Associated Press recently reported. To help turn this around, thousands of bankers will teach savings lessons in classrooms across the US on the 10th annual National Teach Children to Save Day on Apr 25. Bankers will teach lessons that incorporate games and activities about the concept of saving, how interest makes money grow, how to budget/create a...

Linked Deposit Program Aids Producers From Disaster Counties

Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs announced that farmers and ranchers in declared disaster counties who suffered crop and livestock losses from drought can apply for the Texas Department of Agriculture's Linked Deposit Program for assistance. The maximum loan amount financed for disaster relief under the Linked Deposit Program is $250,000 per applicant. Linked Deposit funds may be used for agriculture-related operating expenses or expenses related to replacing or repairing assets damaged b...

Survey Explores Branching Trends and Competition

Though six out of 10 community bankers think their markets are over-branched, 76% continue to see branch expansion as their main avenue for growth, according to the latest Community Bank Competitiveness Survey, results of which were released at the American Bankers Association's National Conference for Community Bankers. Of the 533 community bank managers participating in the survey, 32% said their bank's branching efforts were aimed at raising deposits; 25% said increasing overall market sha...

We Wish to Welcome and Thank Our Newest Associate Members

Comerica Bank Celebrates Oak Cliff Re-Opening

Bankers Roundtable

What Was the Most Valuable Benefit You Received From the Ag Conference?

In a roundtable discussion, five bank executives shared their views regarding the most valuable benefit they received from the Ag and Rural Affairs Conference. Legend Bank SVP Bruce Bynum said that he benefited from visiting with other agricultural lenders and business people in attendance. Austin Bank EVP/regional president Charles R. Waldrop added that the conference is definitely one of the most informative meetings. There is always a great slate of speakers covering topics of interest to ...

What's Hot With Tbasco

S1 Offers Internet Solutions for Community Banks

S1's goal is to provide its partner community financial institutions with the ability to clearly separate themselves from the competition. The comprehensive suite of S1 front-office applications drives online channel adoption and increases profitability while improving the overall community banking experience. S1 delivers a single solution that addresses and exceeds the needs of community banks' retail and business banking customers with the most intuitive, easy-to-use interface in the indust...

Your Advocate

Banking Issues Make Their Way Through Congress

When the second session of the 109th Congress convened in late January, a number of issues of particular import to Texas bankers continued to make their way through the legislative process. In late February, the President signed a new budget reconciliation bill into law. A key provision in S.1932 is the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005. When the laws become effective in September, it will allow limits for deposit insurance coverage to increase for the first time in more than 25 ye...

Message From The President

Fraud-Net: Priceless

Fraud-Net, a secure Web site that gives bankers the opportunity to read and post alerts about criminal activities affecting financial institutions, has been a member benefit since Apr 2003. The site is divided up by geographic regions of the state and further categorized by type of activity. The best way to reap the full potential of Fraud-Net is to designate someone from your bank to spend just five minutes a day monitoring the postings. In 2003, attempted check fraud at US banks totaled $5....

Banker To Banker

Sun Nien Fai Lok and Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Saying Happy New Year in Cantonese is no easy feat, but at the Chinese New Year celebrations in the West Houston Asian enclaves along Bellaire Boulevard there were plenty of opportunities to practice. There are 37 banks or branches located within the three zip codes in the area of Houston, and nearly all of them have different levels of involvement in the Asian community. New Chinatown -- or Little Saigon -- is the largest Chinatown in the world area-wise, though the term Chinatown is mislead...

Community Banker

Spotlight: Running the Nation's Smallest Bank

Roddy Rawls Wiley, 81, has no intention of retiring as president of Oakwood State Bank, which, with $2 million in assets, has the distinction of being the smallest bank in the US. Double-bypass surgery in 1998 did not stop him from running the bank -- he was conducting business over the phone just out of the recovery room. Wiley was born and raised in Oakwood, where his father was a banker at Oakwood State Bank. The bank was founded in 1900 as a private bank by his father's half brother and a...

Legal Hotline

Use Caution When Accepting Checks From Foreign Countries

Banks need to use extreme caution when presented with a check drawn on a bank located in another country. Banks located outside the US do not have to follow the Federal Reserve rules for processing and return of checks. In the past few months, there has been a marked increase in the number of returned Canadian checks. Much of the increase is from large dollar, fraudulent items. Returns received from the Canadian vendor are returned directly to the endorsing financial institution or to the Dis...