Whitney Bank has approximately $80 million in pent-up loan demand in the Capital Region, according to Troy Hebert, Baton Rouge market president. That represents about 25% more loan requests than the bank had in its pipeline last year at this time, which suggests the economy is continuing to improve, albeit slowly. "We are starting to see more and more demand," says Hebert, adding that the requests for financing are coming from all sectors—industrial and petrochemical, real estate, and a variety of small and medium-size businesses. "A lot of companies are coming into this market or expanding into this market." Between 60% and 75% of deals in Whitney's pipeline, on average, will receive approval, says Hebert. Included among them will be a small amount of loans for speculative building, something this market hasn't seen in a long time. "We aren't telling builders to go out and build 50 spec homes," Hebert says. "But there are some select projects where it makes sense." In 2011...
The shareholders of Hammond-based First Community Holding Co. today approved a previously announced acquisition by Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank. The deal, which was first announced in January, is expected to close May 1, according to a release from Investar. The conversion of the First Community branches to Investar locations will take place June 20-23. Until then, "First Community customers will see no changes in their banking services and should continue to use their checks, make loan payments, conduct online banking and take advantage of other First Community services as before," reads the statement. Following the deal, Investar will have nine total branches. More details can be found here.
After 28 years at Baton Rouge-based Campus Federal, John Milazzo has announced his retirement as president and CEO. Taking his place, as of Jan. 1, will be Dawn Harris, who has been with the credit union for 29 years. The board of directors overseeing Campus Federal announced Harris as Milazzo's successor on Wednesday. "Mr. Milazzo has provided outstanding leadership to the credit union for 28 years and will be greatly missed; we wish him continued successes in the future as he transitions to new activities in the years ahead," says board Chairman Ken Paxton in a prepared statement. Paxton calls Harris "an extremely capable leader," adding that her "extensive operational experience, regulatory and industry knowledge, strategic vision, and commitment to Campus Federal over the past 29 years make her an excellent choice for a successful future for the credit union and our members." Harris has previously served as chief operating officer, executive vice president of retail services, and...
Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate Keith Short is leaving IberiaBank to join Investar Bank as its new Lafayette market regional president. Baton Rouge-based Investar is gearing up to expand its operations in the Lafayette market, with its first branch expected to open in the city in September. Short has 24 years' experience in the banking industry and is no stranger to Lafayette. He helped Lafayette-based IberiaBank expand its operations into the Baton Rouge market. As Baton Rouge president, Short "grew [IberiaBank] from a single temporary branch to a successful multi-branch franchise," according to a release from Investar issued today. IberiaBank now has nine branches in the Baton Rouge area. After his tenure as Baton Rouge president, Short went on to serve as president of IberiaBank's Naples, Fort Myers and Florida Keys markets in Florida. "As Lafayette regional president, Keith will assemble and manage a team of local bankers who understand Acadiana and its economy and serve...
Investar Bank announced this morning that it has signed an agreement to acquire First Community Bank in a deal that will double the Baton Rouge-based bank's New Orleans-area presence. First Community is headquartered in Hammond and has approximately $107 million in assets. Investar says it doesn't anticipate the elimination of jobs as part of the deal between the two privately held companies. The financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed. First Community has two branch locations—one each in Hammond and Mandeville—that Investar will gain and rebrand after the deal closes. Also upon closing, First Community Bank CEO Cordell White will serve as Investar's regional president for Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes. First Community customers should experience no changes in banking services as a result of the acquisition, which still needs to be approved by several federal and state agencies as well shareholders of First...
Investar Bank says it has signed an agreement to acquire First Community Bank in a deal that will double the Baton Rouge-based bank's New Orleans-area presence. First Community Bank is headquartered in Hammond and has approximately $107 million in assets. Investar says it anticipates no jobs will be eliminated as a consequence of the deal between the two privately held companies. The financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed. Read Daily Report AM for further details.
The FDIC has just released its Community Banking Study, a "data-driven effort to identify and explore issues and questions about community banks." I'm a big fan of community banks because they really stepped up for the commercial real estate industry during the banking crisis. While the larger banks were backing out of real estate lending, the community banks took up the slack and kept the industry moving. In the process, many of them developed significant expertise in real estate lending. Among the seven lending specialty groups analyzed in the FDIC study, community banks specializing in commercial real estate were found to have grown to become the largest specialty group between 2005 and 2009, peaking at just below 30% of all community banks. This is important to me in my business because the level of expertise that a bank has in real estate—and the extent to which the bank officials specialize—gives me comfort that they will help the developers make good decisions up...
Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank announced today that it will open Thursday its first branch in Mandeville, furthering plans laid out in September to expand its presence along the Northshore and in the Greater New Orleans market. The Mandeville location, at 2929 Hwy. 190, is the second Investar branch opening in the Greater New Orleans market this week. The bank says a Metairie branch at 500 Veterans Blvd. opened earlier this week; its first in the market. Both locations provide consumer, small business, mortgage and commercial banking services. "By strengthening our southeast Louisiana franchise, we're able to introduce even more clients to the personalized service that is the hallmark of our locally owned, locally managed and locally staffed community bank," says Stephen Wessel, the bank's New Orleans regional president, in a prepared statement. Investar has five branches in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Port Allen and Prairieville. Pending regulatory approval, its first branch in...
Greenville, Miss.-native Robert "Bobby" Fahey arrived in Baton Rouge 34 years ago to pursue graduate studies at LSU, and he's been here ever since. Fahey began a new position with Britton & Koontz Bank as market president in September. Previously, he worked in private banking; and before that he'd been with Whitney Bank for 12 years, handling real estate lending. Fahey says he enjoys the community bank atmosphere at Britton & Koontz and is looking forward to helping the Natchez, Miss.-based bank grow in the Baton Rouge market. Click here to read the complete Q&A with Fahey. Here's a sample: If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be? "Forget dinner. I'd prefer a round of golf with Drew Brees, Archie Manning and David Toms. My son would also insist on playing."
Bobby Fahey has been in Baton Rouge for 34 years since arriving to pursue his graduate studies at LSU; he received his bachelor's degree in Cleveland, Miss. Before starting his new position at B&K Bank in October, he spent the previous 12 years at Whitney Bank in real estate lending and, most recently, in private banking. He now enjoys the atmosphere of a community bank as he seeks to grow the Baton Rouge market for B&K, which is based in Natchez, Miss. After a career in lending, Fahey looks forward to managing.
Before attending the University of Louisiana and receiving a degree in finance, Ben Marmande was born and raised in Houma. He later completed his MBA at Loyola while working for Hibernia Bank. After 11 years at Hibernia, he left to become CFO/COO of Racom Technologies. Racom experienced tremendous growth—quadrupling in four years—before Marmande engineered their sale to Lason Technologies, where he stayed on for a few years. After Hurricane Katrina, Marmande moved to New Orleans to work as president of New Orleans Fine Hotels in an effort to rebuild the company. However, the job was not a good fit and Marmande returned to finance to join IberiaBank, where he's now executive vice president and senior credit officer. Check out the full Q&A here. Here's a sample:
Ben Marmande was and raised in Houma, La. before attending the University of Louisiana and receiving a degree in finance. Marmande then completed his MBA at Loyola while working for Hibernia Bank. After 11 years at Hibernia, he left to become CFO/COO of Racom Technologies. Racom experienced tremendous growth—quadrupling in four years—before Marmande engineered their sale to Lason Technologies, where he stayed on for a few years. After Hurricane Katrina, Marmande moved to New Orleans to work as president of New Orleans Fine Hotels in an effort to rebuild the company. However, the job was not a good fit and Marmande returned to finance to take his position at Iberia Bank.
Capital One Bank is vacating its downtown offices at 440 Third St., putting the eight-story building up for sale and moving to One American Place, located less than a block away at 310 Main St., the bank announced today. "After deciding to put our current building up for sale, we knew we wanted to stay downtown," reads a statement from Ric Kearny, Baton Rouge area president for Capital One. "One American Place is centrally located downtown-just a short walk from our current building-and we believe our customers and associates will enjoy its quality office space and amenities." Staff will begin relocating in stages beginning this month, with all staff members expected to be in the new location by sometime in the first half of 2013. At that time, the branch lobby at 440 Third St. will be relocated to the ground floor of One American Place, while the bank's non-branch employees will occupy space on floors 17 and 18.
In the aftermath of one of the worst recessions in history, more Americans have only a limited relationship with banks—or none at all—and instead rely on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances, according to a new federal report. The report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says not only are these Americans more vulnerable to high fees and interest rates, but they are also cut off from credit to buy a car or a home or pay for college. Released Wednesday, the study found that 821,000 households opted out of the banking system from 2009 to 2011 and that the so-called unbanked population grew to 8.2% of U.S. households. That means that roughly 17 million adults are without a checking or savings account. Another 51 million adults have a bank account but use pawnshops, payday lenders or rent-to-own services, the FDIC reports. This underbanked population has grown from 18.2% to 20.1% of households nationwide. The study also found that more than one in...
Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank this morning announced new officers to lead the bank's recent expansion into the New Orleans/Northshore market, and also says it plans to enter the Lafayette market next year. Stephen Wessel has been named regional president of Investar's new franchise serving the New Orleans and Northshore areas. In June, Investar acquired a branch in Mandeville, which it hopes to have open early next year; in April it announced plans to purchase a three-story building in Metairie to convert into a branch, which is expected to open in October. Wessel, with 27 years of banking experience, will be responsible for the development, expansion and management of all branching, commercial, consumer and mortgage banking activity for the New Orleans area. Meanwhile, Kevin Dobson has been tapped to serve as chief lending officer for the market. Dobson, who has 17 years of banking experience, will lead the bank's commercial, small-business and private banking team. Investar says...
It's unclear how Iberville Bank in Plaquemine became a member of Independent Community Bankers of America in 1939. But the bank's leaders are sure of one thing: ICBA membership strengthens Iberville Bank through the group's significant collective voice, linking it to other community banks—and plenty of resources. "There's no other unified voice acting for community banks," says Scott Gaudin, business development officer for Iberville Bank, in the Independent Banker. "Community banks have always and will always face challenges as far as not being as big, but with ICBA we don't have to be the little guy in a sense. There is strength in numbers." The Wilbert family founded and opened Iberville Bank in 1931 during the Great Depression. They named the bank after the single parish it could serve under existing state laws. At the time, thousands of banks were failing. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted the "national bank holiday," and Congress created the FDIC...
Regions Financial Corp.'s second-quarter profit more than tripled as the regional lender sharply reduced its provision for loans gone bad, sending its shares higher in premarket trading. The Wall Street Journal reports the Birmingham, Ala., parent company of Regions Bank, which has about 17 branches in the Capital Region, has struggled to find firm footing after suffering heavy losses from real-estate loans gone bad during the financial crisis. As with other lenders, Regions' bottom line has been helped of late by reduced provisions set aside to cover souring loans, but revenue growth has been a greater challenge amid continued low interest rates. Regions reported a profit of $355 million on the quarter, up from $109 million, a year earlier. On a per-share basis, which reflects the payment of preferred dividends, earnings improved to 20 cents from 4 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 15 cents. Get more details in the full story
Capital One Bank will pay $210 million to settle federal charges that it tricked credit card customers into buying costly add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring. Most of the money will go directly to refund customers who were led to believe the services were free or mandatory or offered more benefits than they did, officials announced this morning. The order against Capital One is the first enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was set up a year ago to protect consumers from excessive or hidden fees and other financial threats. Under its agreement with the CFPB, Capital One will pay about $150 million to 2.5 million customers and an additional $25 million penalty. Capital One will pay a $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a separate federal agency that oversees its banking operations. The refunds will go to customers who bought add-on card services between August 2010 and January 2012. Capital...
JPMorgan Chase announced this morning that a bad trade had cost the bank $5.8 billion this year—almost triple its original estimate—raising the prospect that traders had improperly tried to conceal the blunder. "This has shaken our company to the core," CEO Jamie Dimon says. The bank says managers tied to the bad trade had been dismissed without severance pay and that it plans to revoke two years' worth of pay from each of those executives. JPMorgan says it lost $4.4 billion because of the trade from April through June, and its chief financial officer confirms the bank has lost an additional $1.4 billion in the first three months of the year. Dimon's original estimate of the loss from the bad trade, disclosed in a surprise conference call with Wall Street analysts on May 10, was $2 billion. The bank says an internal investigation, including emails and voice messages, had called into question the values that traders placed on certain bets, and that the traders may have...
MidSouth Bancorp is doubling its Baton Rouge presence with the purchase of two of the six bank branches in Baton Rouge shuttered by the merger of Hancock and Whitney banks. The branches sold are the former Hancock branch at 2927 South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and the former Whitney branch at 6031 Jones Creek Road. Both purchases are subject to regulatory approval. MidSouth says it plans to open the Sherwood location in September and the Jones Creek location in October. Matt Laborde and Branon Pesnell of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate, who represented Whitney/Hancock Bank in the deals, say the Sherwood location sold for $650,000 and the Jones Creek location for $350,000. "These former Hancock and Whitney locations are a perfect distance from our two existing banking centers, allowing us to expand both our commercial and consumer reach in the Baton Rouge market," says MidSouth Bank Regional President Paul Judice. MidSouth currently has two Baton Rouge locations: one on Siegen Lane and...
MidSouth Bancorp is doubling its Baton Rouge presence with the purchase of two bank branches shuttered by the merger of Hancock and Whitney banks. A purchase price was not disclosed for either branch, and both purchases are subject to regulatory approval. The branches sold are the former Hancock branch at 2927 South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and the former Whitney branch at 6031 Jones Creek Road. MidSouth says it plans to open the Sherwood location in September and the Jones Creek location in October. "These former Hancock and Whitney locations are a perfect distance from our two existing banking centers, allowing us to expand both our commercial and consumer reach in the Baton Rouge market," says MidSouth Bank Regional President Paul Judice. "The investment in these two locations will support our future growth in Baton Rouge and into surrounding parishes, while providing more convenience for our existing customers." MidSouth currently has two Baton Rouge locations: one on Siegen Lane...
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon informed a congressional committee this morning that senior bank executives responsible for a $2 billion trading loss will probably have some of their pay taken back by the company. "It's likely that there will be clawbacks," Dimon told the Senate Banking Committee. Under bank policy, Dimon says, stock and bonuses can be recovered from executives, even for exercising bad judgment. The policy has never been invoked, he adds. The start of the hearing was delayed by demonstrators in the room who shouted about stopping foreclosures. Another demonstrator shouted, "Jamie Dimon's a crook." At least a dozen people were escorted from the hearing room. Dimon appeared serene during the outbursts, which lasted several minutes. At another point before the questioning began, he gave a broad smile. Dimon contended that the trading loss, disclosed May 10 in a surprise conference call with reporters and banking analysts, was meant to hedge risk to the company and to...
Named Baton Rouge area president in March, Ric Kearny has 22 years of banking experience, including 20 years with Capital One Bank and its predecessor banks in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge native is a board member and treasurer of both the Sunrise Rotary Club and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. He spends free weekends at the camp he owns in Cocodrie. Read a Q&A with Kearny here. Here's a sample:
Named Baton Rouge area president in March, Ric Kearny has 22 years of banking experience, including 20 years with Capital One Bank and its predecessor banks in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge native is a board member and treasurer of both the Sunrise Rotary Club and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. He spends free weekends at the camp he owns in Cocodrie.
Lafayette-based Iberiabank Corp. has received approval from state and federal regulators to buy Florida Gulf Bancorp Inc. and Florida Gulf Bank. IberiaBank announced the proposed $43.7 million cash-and-stock deal in March. Florida Gulf Bancorp is the holding company of Florida Gulf Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions have signed off on the acquisition, leaving just the Florida Gulf Bancorp shareholders left to approve the deal. As of March 31, Florida Gulf Bancorp had total assets of $376 million, $302 million in deposits and $248 million in net loans. IberiaBank Corp., the holding company of IberiaBank, had total assets of $11.8 billion. The company has 266 offices, including 175 branches in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro stuck at 11% in April—the highest level since the single currency was introduced back in 1999, piling further pressure on the region's leaders to switch from austerity to focus on stimulating growth. The eurozone's stagnant economy left 17.4 million people out of a population of some 330 million without a job, with rates continuing to climb in struggling Spain, Portugal and Greece. The European Union's Eurostat office says 110,000 unemployed were added in April alone. In recession-hit Spain, unemployment spiked to 24.3%, the worst rate in the EU. Youth unemployment ballooned to a 51.5%, up from 45% last year. Investors are concerned that Spain, which is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy and is currently struggling to contain a banking crisis in the middle of a recession, may soon be seeking international assistance. Financially shaky countries such as Spain are facing rapidly rising borrowing costs on bond markets, a...
During a childhood that carried her from Colorado to New Mexico to Oklahoma and finally to Louisiana, Janet Olson learned a bit about adjusting to new places and building new relationships.
UL Lafayette great turned NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme—currently a free agent after playing for the Houston Texans last season—will be helping call some of the plays for MidSouth Bank as an advisory director to the bank's board of directors. "The MidSouth Bank Board, like anyone who knows Jake, has long been impressed by his energy, enthusiasm and drive," says MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier in a news release. "Never has anyone been told 'no' so many times and proven people wrong so many times as Jake Delhomme." Cloutier says the bank plans to utilize the leadership skills Delhomme honed on the football field to inspire and encourage young leaders at the bank and to help instill a strong work ethic in them. Delhomme was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and went on to a successful career with the Carolina Panthers, where he holds multiple franchise records and led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, setting a Super...
Loan demand rising in Capital Region, Whitney market president says
Whitney Bank has approximately $80 million in pent-up loan demand in the Capital Region, according to Troy Hebert, Baton Rouge market president. That represents about 25% more loan requests than the bank had in its pipeline last year at this time, which suggests the economy is continuing to improve, albeit slowly. "We are starting to see more and more demand," says Hebert, adding that the requests for financing are coming from all sectors—industrial and petrochemical, real estate, and a variety of small and medium-size businesses. "A lot of companies are coming into this market or expanding into this market." Between 60% and 75% of deals in Whitney's pipeline, on average, will receive approval, says Hebert. Included among them will be a small amount of loans for speculative building, something this market hasn't seen in a long time. "We aren't telling builders to go out and build 50 spec homes," Hebert says. "But there are some select projects where it makes sense." In 2011...
First Community Bank shareholders OK acquisition by Investar
The shareholders of Hammond-based First Community Holding Co. today approved a previously announced acquisition by Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank. The deal, which was first announced in January, is expected to close May 1, according to a release from Investar. The conversion of the First Community branches to Investar locations will take place June 20-23. Until then, "First Community customers will see no changes in their banking services and should continue to use their checks, make loan payments, conduct online banking and take advantage of other First Community services as before," reads the statement. Following the deal, Investar will have nine total branches. More details can be found here.
Campus Federal CEO Milazzo retiring; Harris named successor
After 28 years at Baton Rouge-based Campus Federal, John Milazzo has announced his retirement as president and CEO. Taking his place, as of Jan. 1, will be Dawn Harris, who has been with the credit union for 29 years. The board of directors overseeing Campus Federal announced Harris as Milazzo's successor on Wednesday. "Mr. Milazzo has provided outstanding leadership to the credit union for 28 years and will be greatly missed; we wish him continued successes in the future as he transitions to new activities in the years ahead," says board Chairman Ken Paxton in a prepared statement. Paxton calls Harris "an extremely capable leader," adding that her "extensive operational experience, regulatory and industry knowledge, strategic vision, and commitment to Campus Federal over the past 29 years make her an excellent choice for a successful future for the credit union and our members." Harris has previously served as chief operating officer, executive vice president of retail services, and...
Short joins Investar Bank
Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate Keith Short is leaving IberiaBank to join Investar Bank as its new Lafayette market regional president. Baton Rouge-based Investar is gearing up to expand its operations in the Lafayette market, with its first branch expected to open in the city in September. Short has 24 years' experience in the banking industry and is no stranger to Lafayette. He helped Lafayette-based IberiaBank expand its operations into the Baton Rouge market. As Baton Rouge president, Short "grew [IberiaBank] from a single temporary branch to a successful multi-branch franchise," according to a release from Investar issued today. IberiaBank now has nine branches in the Baton Rouge area. After his tenure as Baton Rouge president, Short went on to serve as president of IberiaBank's Naples, Fort Myers and Florida Keys markets in Florida. "As Lafayette regional president, Keith will assemble and manage a team of local bankers who understand Acadiana and its economy and serve...
Investar to acquire First Community Bank in Hammond
Investar Bank announced this morning that it has signed an agreement to acquire First Community Bank in a deal that will double the Baton Rouge-based bank's New Orleans-area presence. First Community is headquartered in Hammond and has approximately $107 million in assets. Investar says it doesn't anticipate the elimination of jobs as part of the deal between the two privately held companies. The financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed. First Community has two branch locations—one each in Hammond and Mandeville—that Investar will gain and rebrand after the deal closes. Also upon closing, First Community Bank CEO Cordell White will serve as Investar's regional president for Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes. First Community customers should experience no changes in banking services as a result of the acquisition, which still needs to be approved by several federal and state agencies as well shareholders of First...
News alert: Investar to acquire First Community
Investar Bank says it has signed an agreement to acquire First Community Bank in a deal that will double the Baton Rouge-based bank's New Orleans-area presence. First Community Bank is headquartered in Hammond and has approximately $107 million in assets. Investar says it anticipates no jobs will be eliminated as a consequence of the deal between the two privately held companies. The financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed. Read Daily Report AM for further details.
Andrews: New FDIC study recognizes growing value of community banks
The FDIC has just released its Community Banking Study, a "data-driven effort to identify and explore issues and questions about community banks." I'm a big fan of community banks because they really stepped up for the commercial real estate industry during the banking crisis. While the larger banks were backing out of real estate lending, the community banks took up the slack and kept the industry moving. In the process, many of them developed significant expertise in real estate lending. Among the seven lending specialty groups analyzed in the FDIC study, community banks specializing in commercial real estate were found to have grown to become the largest specialty group between 2005 and 2009, peaking at just below 30% of all community banks. This is important to me in my business because the level of expertise that a bank has in real estate—and the extent to which the bank officials specialize—gives me comfort that they will help the developers make good decisions up...
Investar expanding Greater New Orleans footprint
Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank announced today that it will open Thursday its first branch in Mandeville, furthering plans laid out in September to expand its presence along the Northshore and in the Greater New Orleans market. The Mandeville location, at 2929 Hwy. 190, is the second Investar branch opening in the Greater New Orleans market this week. The bank says a Metairie branch at 500 Veterans Blvd. opened earlier this week; its first in the market. Both locations provide consumer, small business, mortgage and commercial banking services. "By strengthening our southeast Louisiana franchise, we're able to introduce even more clients to the personalized service that is the hallmark of our locally owned, locally managed and locally staffed community bank," says Stephen Wessel, the bank's New Orleans regional president, in a prepared statement. Investar has five branches in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Port Allen and Prairieville. Pending regulatory approval, its first branch in...
Executive Spotlight: Bobby Fahey
Greenville, Miss.-native Robert "Bobby" Fahey arrived in Baton Rouge 34 years ago to pursue graduate studies at LSU, and he's been here ever since. Fahey began a new position with Britton & Koontz Bank as market president in September. Previously, he worked in private banking; and before that he'd been with Whitney Bank for 12 years, handling real estate lending. Fahey says he enjoys the community bank atmosphere at Britton & Koontz and is looking forward to helping the Natchez, Miss.-based bank grow in the Baton Rouge market. Click here to read the complete Q&A with Fahey. Here's a sample:
If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be?
"Forget dinner. I'd prefer a round of golf with Drew Brees, Archie Manning and David Toms. My son would also insist on playing."
Robert "Bobby" Fahey
Bobby Fahey has been in Baton Rouge for 34 years since arriving to pursue his graduate studies at LSU; he received his bachelor's degree in Cleveland, Miss. Before starting his new position at B&K Bank in October, he spent the previous 12 years at Whitney Bank in real estate lending and, most recently, in private banking. He now enjoys the atmosphere of a community bank as he seeks to grow the Baton Rouge market for B&K, which is based in Natchez, Miss. After a career in lending, Fahey looks forward to managing.
Executive Spotlight: Ben Marmande
Before attending the University of Louisiana and receiving a degree in finance, Ben Marmande was born and raised in Houma. He later completed his MBA at Loyola while working for Hibernia Bank. After 11 years at Hibernia, he left to become CFO/COO of Racom Technologies. Racom experienced tremendous growth—quadrupling in four years—before Marmande engineered their sale to Lason Technologies, where he stayed on for a few years. After Hurricane Katrina, Marmande moved to New Orleans to work as president of New Orleans Fine Hotels in an effort to rebuild the company. However, the job was not a good fit and Marmande returned to finance to join IberiaBank, where he's now executive vice president and senior credit officer. Check out the full Q&A here. Here's a sample:
Ben Marmande
Ben Marmande was and raised in Houma, La. before attending the University of Louisiana and receiving a degree in finance. Marmande then completed his MBA at Loyola while working for Hibernia Bank. After 11 years at Hibernia, he left to become CFO/COO of Racom Technologies. Racom experienced tremendous growth—quadrupling in four years—before Marmande engineered their sale to Lason Technologies, where he stayed on for a few years. After Hurricane Katrina, Marmande moved to New Orleans to work as president of New Orleans Fine Hotels in an effort to rebuild the company. However, the job was not a good fit and Marmande returned to finance to take his position at Iberia Bank.
Capital One moving downtown offices to One American Place
Capital One Bank is vacating its downtown offices at 440 Third St., putting the eight-story building up for sale and moving to One American Place, located less than a block away at 310 Main St., the bank announced today. "After deciding to put our current building up for sale, we knew we wanted to stay downtown," reads a statement from Ric Kearny, Baton Rouge area president for Capital One. "One American Place is centrally located downtown-just a short walk from our current building-and we believe our customers and associates will enjoy its quality office space and amenities." Staff will begin relocating in stages beginning this month, with all staff members expected to be in the new location by sometime in the first half of 2013. At that time, the branch lobby at 440 Third St. will be relocated to the ground floor of One American Place, while the bank's non-branch employees will occupy space on floors 17 and 18.
More Americans bypassing banks for payday lenders, pawnshops
In the aftermath of one of the worst recessions in history, more Americans have only a limited relationship with banks—or none at all—and instead rely on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances, according to a new federal report. The report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says not only are these Americans more vulnerable to high fees and interest rates, but they are also cut off from credit to buy a car or a home or pay for college. Released Wednesday, the study found that 821,000 households opted out of the banking system from 2009 to 2011 and that the so-called unbanked population grew to 8.2% of U.S. households. That means that roughly 17 million adults are without a checking or savings account. Another 51 million adults have a bank account but use pawnshops, payday lenders or rent-to-own services, the FDIC reports. This underbanked population has grown from 18.2% to 20.1% of households nationwide. The study also found that more than one in...
Investar expanding into New Orleans, Northshore markets
Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank this morning announced new officers to lead the bank's recent expansion into the New Orleans/Northshore market, and also says it plans to enter the Lafayette market next year. Stephen Wessel has been named regional president of Investar's new franchise serving the New Orleans and Northshore areas. In June, Investar acquired a branch in Mandeville, which it hopes to have open early next year; in April it announced plans to purchase a three-story building in Metairie to convert into a branch, which is expected to open in October. Wessel, with 27 years of banking experience, will be responsible for the development, expansion and management of all branching, commercial, consumer and mortgage banking activity for the New Orleans area. Meanwhile, Kevin Dobson has been tapped to serve as chief lending officer for the market. Dobson, who has 17 years of banking experience, will lead the bank's commercial, small-business and private banking team. Investar says...
Iberville Bank relies on ICBA membership for strength
It's unclear how Iberville Bank in Plaquemine became a member of Independent Community Bankers of America in 1939. But the bank's leaders are sure of one thing: ICBA membership strengthens Iberville Bank through the group's significant collective voice, linking it to other community banks—and plenty of resources. "There's no other unified voice acting for community banks," says Scott Gaudin, business development officer for Iberville Bank, in the Independent Banker. "Community banks have always and will always face challenges as far as not being as big, but with ICBA we don't have to be the little guy in a sense. There is strength in numbers." The Wilbert family founded and opened Iberville Bank in 1931 during the Great Depression. They named the bank after the single parish it could serve under existing state laws. At the time, thousands of banks were failing. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted the "national bank holiday," and Congress created the FDIC...
Regions Financial sees profits triple in 2Q
Regions Financial Corp.'s second-quarter profit more than tripled as the regional lender sharply reduced its provision for loans gone bad, sending its shares higher in premarket trading. The Wall Street Journal reports the Birmingham, Ala., parent company of Regions Bank, which has about 17 branches in the Capital Region, has struggled to find firm footing after suffering heavy losses from real-estate loans gone bad during the financial crisis. As with other lenders, Regions' bottom line has been helped of late by reduced provisions set aside to cover souring loans, but revenue growth has been a greater challenge amid continued low interest rates. Regions reported a profit of $355 million on the quarter, up from $109 million, a year earlier. On a per-share basis, which reflects the payment of preferred dividends, earnings improved to 20 cents from 4 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 15 cents. Get more details in the full story
Risk pays off
Between the recession and financial-industry turmoil, borrowing has become harder than ever at a time when, for many, it's more necessary.
Capital One agrees to repay consumers to end card probe
Capital One Bank will pay $210 million to settle federal charges that it tricked credit card customers into buying costly add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring. Most of the money will go directly to refund customers who were led to believe the services were free or mandatory or offered more benefits than they did, officials announced this morning. The order against Capital One is the first enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was set up a year ago to protect consumers from excessive or hidden fees and other financial threats. Under its agreement with the CFPB, Capital One will pay about $150 million to 2.5 million customers and an additional $25 million penalty. Capital One will pay a $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a separate federal agency that oversees its banking operations. The refunds will go to customers who bought add-on card services between August 2010 and January 2012. Capital...
JPMorgan's bad trade has ballooned from $2B to $5.8B
JPMorgan Chase announced this morning that a bad trade had cost the bank $5.8 billion this year—almost triple its original estimate—raising the prospect that traders had improperly tried to conceal the blunder. "This has shaken our company to the core," CEO Jamie Dimon says. The bank says managers tied to the bad trade had been dismissed without severance pay and that it plans to revoke two years' worth of pay from each of those executives. JPMorgan says it lost $4.4 billion because of the trade from April through June, and its chief financial officer confirms the bank has lost an additional $1.4 billion in the first three months of the year. Dimon's original estimate of the loss from the bad trade, disclosed in a surprise conference call with Wall Street analysts on May 10, was $2 billion. The bank says an internal investigation, including emails and voice messages, had called into question the values that traders placed on certain bets, and that the traders may have...
MidSouth buys pair of B.R. branches from Hancock-Whitney
MidSouth Bancorp is doubling its Baton Rouge presence with the purchase of two of the six bank branches in Baton Rouge shuttered by the merger of Hancock and Whitney banks. The branches sold are the former Hancock branch at 2927 South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and the former Whitney branch at 6031 Jones Creek Road. Both purchases are subject to regulatory approval. MidSouth says it plans to open the Sherwood location in September and the Jones Creek location in October. Matt Laborde and Branon Pesnell of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate, who represented Whitney/Hancock Bank in the deals, say the Sherwood location sold for $650,000 and the Jones Creek location for $350,000. "These former Hancock and Whitney locations are a perfect distance from our two existing banking centers, allowing us to expand both our commercial and consumer reach in the Baton Rouge market," says MidSouth Bank Regional President Paul Judice. MidSouth currently has two Baton Rouge locations: one on Siegen Lane and...
MidSouth buys pair of B.R. branches from Hancock-Whitney
MidSouth Bancorp is doubling its Baton Rouge presence with the purchase of two bank branches shuttered by the merger of Hancock and Whitney banks. A purchase price was not disclosed for either branch, and both purchases are subject to regulatory approval. The branches sold are the former Hancock branch at 2927 South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and the former Whitney branch at 6031 Jones Creek Road. MidSouth says it plans to open the Sherwood location in September and the Jones Creek location in October. "These former Hancock and Whitney locations are a perfect distance from our two existing banking centers, allowing us to expand both our commercial and consumer reach in the Baton Rouge market," says MidSouth Bank Regional President Paul Judice. "The investment in these two locations will support our future growth in Baton Rouge and into surrounding parishes, while providing more convenience for our existing customers." MidSouth currently has two Baton Rouge locations: one on Siegen Lane...
JPMorgan CEO says clawbacks of executive pay 'likely'
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon informed a congressional committee this morning that senior bank executives responsible for a $2 billion trading loss will probably have some of their pay taken back by the company. "It's likely that there will be clawbacks," Dimon told the Senate Banking Committee. Under bank policy, Dimon says, stock and bonuses can be recovered from executives, even for exercising bad judgment. The policy has never been invoked, he adds. The start of the hearing was delayed by demonstrators in the room who shouted about stopping foreclosures. Another demonstrator shouted, "Jamie Dimon's a crook." At least a dozen people were escorted from the hearing room. Dimon appeared serene during the outbursts, which lasted several minutes. At another point before the questioning began, he gave a broad smile. Dimon contended that the trading loss, disclosed May 10 in a surprise conference call with reporters and banking analysts, was meant to hedge risk to the company and to...
Executive Spotlight: Ric Kearny of Capital One Bank
Named Baton Rouge area president in March, Ric Kearny has 22 years of banking experience, including 20 years with Capital One Bank and its predecessor banks in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge native is a board member and treasurer of both the Sunrise Rotary Club and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. He spends free weekends at the camp he owns in Cocodrie. Read a Q&A with Kearny here. Here's a sample:
Ric Kearny
Named Baton Rouge area president in March, Ric Kearny has 22 years of banking experience, including 20 years with Capital One Bank and its predecessor banks in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge native is a board member and treasurer of both the Sunrise Rotary Club and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. He spends free weekends at the camp he owns in Cocodrie.
IberiaBank bank gets green light to buy Florida bank
Lafayette-based Iberiabank Corp. has received approval from state and federal regulators to buy Florida Gulf Bancorp Inc. and Florida Gulf Bank. IberiaBank announced the proposed $43.7 million cash-and-stock deal in March. Florida Gulf Bancorp is the holding company of Florida Gulf Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions have signed off on the acquisition, leaving just the Florida Gulf Bancorp shareholders left to approve the deal. As of March 31, Florida Gulf Bancorp had total assets of $376 million, $302 million in deposits and $248 million in net loans. IberiaBank Corp., the holding company of IberiaBank, had total assets of $11.8 billion. The company has 266 offices, including 175 branches in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
Eurozone unemployment stuck at record 11%
Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro stuck at 11% in April—the highest level since the single currency was introduced back in 1999, piling further pressure on the region's leaders to switch from austerity to focus on stimulating growth. The eurozone's stagnant economy left 17.4 million people out of a population of some 330 million without a job, with rates continuing to climb in struggling Spain, Portugal and Greece. The European Union's Eurostat office says 110,000 unemployed were added in April alone. In recession-hit Spain, unemployment spiked to 24.3%, the worst rate in the EU. Youth unemployment ballooned to a 51.5%, up from 45% last year. Investors are concerned that Spain, which is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy and is currently struggling to contain a banking crisis in the middle of a recession, may soon be seeking international assistance. Financially shaky countries such as Spain are facing rapidly rising borrowing costs on bond markets, a...
Janet Olson
During a childhood that carried her from Colorado to New Mexico to Oklahoma and finally to Louisiana, Janet Olson learned a bit about adjusting to new places and building new relationships.
Free agent QB Delhomme joins MidSouth Bank roster
UL Lafayette great turned NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme—currently a free agent after playing for the Houston Texans last season—will be helping call some of the plays for MidSouth Bank as an advisory director to the bank's board of directors. "The MidSouth Bank Board, like anyone who knows Jake, has long been impressed by his energy, enthusiasm and drive," says MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier in a news release. "Never has anyone been told 'no' so many times and proven people wrong so many times as Jake Delhomme." Cloutier says the bank plans to utilize the leadership skills Delhomme honed on the football field to inspire and encourage young leaders at the bank and to help instill a strong work ethic in them. Delhomme was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and went on to a successful career with the Carolina Panthers, where he holds multiple franchise records and led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, setting a Super...