Bank Regulatory News
September 1999

September 30, 1999 - OCC Survey Finds Tightened Commercial Loan Standards For First Time In Five Years, But Credit Risk Remains High
WASHINGTON -- In its fifth annual Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported today that underwriting standards for commercial loans tightened at national banks for the first time in five years, while retail lending standards improved for the third consecutive year.

September 30, 1999 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in August. No administrative hearings are scheduled for October.

September 29, 1999 - Minimum Documentation Standards for Loan Line Sheets
The Federal Reserve continues to review its examination and supervisory policies and procedures to bring them into full conformity with a risk-focused examination approach.

September 29, 1999 - Loan Write-Up Standards for Assets Criticized During Examinations
The Federal Reserve continues to review its examination and supervisory policies and procedures to bring them into full conformity with a risk-focused examination approach. As part of these efforts, this letter sets forth the minimum standards for information to be included in the examination report on assets subject to special mention or adverse classification.

September 28, 1999 - Recent Trends in Bank Lending Standards for Commercial Loans
Ongoing supervisory monitoring of lending practices at banks of all sizes, together with published and private reports from market participants, provides evidence that banks in some cases have relaxed their credit discipline in certain key areas.

September 28, 1999 - The Federal Reserve today issued examination guidance cautioning against possible relaxation of credit discipline at banks. Although at this time loan portfolios remain sound overall, indications of departures from proven sound lending practices--in particular, over-reliance on optimistic views of the borrowers' prospects and favorable economic and financial conditions--have been a recurring theme emerging from recent supervisory reviews of bank credit quality.

September 28, 1999 - As part of their efforts to foster readiness for Year 2000, the Federal banking agencies have issued guidance to banking organizations calling for the development of contingency plans to address funding, liquidity, and other issues. In this regard, bank and thrift management are responsible for establishing realistic liquidity and funding plans and programs that are supported by the organization's financial strength, capital position, and risk management capabilities.

September 24, 1999 - OCC RELEASES CRA EVALUATIONS FOR 50 NATIONAL BANKS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during the period of August 15 through September 14. The list contains only national banks and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received ratings. The possible ratings are outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, and substantial noncompliance.

September 24, 1999 - Final Amendments to Management Official Interlocks Rule
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Board of Directors has revised the FDIC's rule on management official interlocks. The final rule, which is attached, takes effect January 1, 2000.

September 23, 1999 - New Rules Adopted For Employment With More Than One Thrift or Bank
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 23, 1999 - The Office of Thrift Supervision and the other federal banking regulators have adopted a revised management interlocks rule to reflect changes in the law that expand the situations in which individuals may serve as officers or directors of two unaffiliated depository institutions or their holding companies.

September 23, 1999 - Steps to Help Rebuild Areas Affected by Hurricane Floyd - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced a series of steps intended to facilitate the process of rebuilding areas along the East Coast of the United States damaged by Hurricane Floyd.   

September 22, 1999 - OCC ANNOUNCES NINE NEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
WASHINGTON, DC --The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced eight new enforcement actions taken against bankers and national banks. The actions released today include two formal agreements, two cease and desist orders, one personal cease and desist order, three civil money penalties, and one removal.

September 21, 1999 - St. Louis Fed's Poole: High Real Interest Rates Not Cause For Alarm
Current high real interest rates ¾ quoted or "nominal" rates minus expected inflation ¾ are not holding back economic growth. Instead, they result from an economy in the midst of a robust economic expansion with optimistic prospects.

September 20, 1999 - OCC Risk Measurement Conference Set for Oct. 14 - 15; WASHINGTON -- Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke, Jr. will open the agency's first risk measurement conference, October 14-15 in Washington.

September 20, 1999 - Final Rule Requiring Banks and Thrifts With Less Than "Satisfactory" Y2K Ratings to Maintain Key Deposit and Loan Information - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Board of Directors has adopted the attached final rule on Year 2000 (Y2K) contingency planning. The FDIC anticipates only a small number of financial institutions will be required to participate in the "Asset and Liability Backup Program" (ALBP). The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has provided extensive Y2K-readiness guidance to the banking industry. Virtually all of the nation's banks and thrifts are now prepared for the millennium. However, the possibility remains that some institutions may not be Y2K-ready and may have to be placed in receivership. The FDIC must plan for every conceivable event.

September 20, 1999 - Commercial bank earnings fell just short of a new record in the second quarter of 1999, according to preliminary data from the FDIC. Industry profitability remained strong, especially in banks' domestic operations. Commercial banks earned $17.0 billion during the three months from April through June. Bank earnings were $1.0 billion lower than the record quarterly total of $18.0 billion in the first quarter, but were still the second-highest quarterly earnings ever reported by the industry.

September 17, 1999 - Truth in Lending Reimbursement Description: Guidance for Examiners and Bankers - The Questions and Answers are in Arobat Format and can be found at http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/99-34a.pdf.

September 16, 1999 - OCC Encourages National Banks to Work with Customers Affected By Hurricane in Eastern U.S. -   The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has outlined measures to assist national banks and their customers affected by hurricane Floyd. The OCC regulates national banks.

September 16, 1999 - With only 106 days remaining before the new century begins, leaders from the five federal agencies that regulate banks, thrifts and credit unions joined together today to report to the nation that insured financial institutions are prepared for the Year 2000 date change.   The agency officials said that 99.7 percent of the nation's insured institutions are now rated satisfactory -- the highest rating given for Y2K readiness. The few institutions that are not yet rated satisfactory are receiving very close regulatory attention, they added.

September 16, 1999 - Year 2000 Event Management Supervisory Efforts Beginning October 1, 1999 - As part of its Year 2000 supervisory efforts, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will collect Year 2000 risk information from FDIC-supervised financial institutions during the "event management period," beginning October 1, 1999, through the Year 2000 date change period. The information will be used to monitor, assess and report on the operational status of financial institutions with respect to the impact of the Year 2000 date change. The other Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council members-the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the National Credit Union Administration-also will collect information from the institutions they supervise.

September 15, 1999 - Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for Third Quarter 1999 - The enclosed materials pertain to the Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for the September 30, 1999, report date. Please complete your third quarter Call Report and submit the report electronically as soon as possible. Your completed report must be received by October 30, 1999, in accordance with the filing requirements discussed below. No extensions of time for submitting reports are granted.

September 15, 1999 - Proposed Revisions to Assessment Regulation (Part 327 of FDIC's Rules and Regulations) - The FDIC Board of Directors has proposed the attached revisions to the FDIC's regulation governing deposit insurance assessments and is seeking comment on the proposal. The Board believes the proposed changes will enhance the present system by allowing institutions with improving capital positions to benefit from the improvement more quickly, while requiring those whose capital is falling to pay a higher assessment sooner. Comments on the proposal are due by October 25, 1999.

September 15, 1999 - OCC Reaches Agreement with Seven More State Insurance Departments - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently signed separate agreements with state insurance regulators of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, and West Virginia to share information about customer complaints that may arise in connection with sales of insurance by banks. The OCC now has agreements with 16 state insurance regulators. Negotiations with three other state regulators are completed and signed agreements are anticipated in the near future.

September 14, 1999 - Bank Trading Revenue Is $2.2 Billion in 2nd Quarter; Notional Amount of Derivatives Is Record $33 Trillion - Banks earned $2.2 billion in trading revenues during the second quarter, down $1.4 billion from the unusually strong and record setting level in the first quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported today in its quarterly Bank Derivatives Report.

September 13, 1999 - OTS Levies Civil Money Penalty for Violation of Business Plan - Commerce Bank, a year-old federal thrift institution in Atlanta, has consented to pay a $100,000 civil money penalty because it materially deviated from its business plan without obtaining approval from the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Commerce Bank neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.

September 10, 1999 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed Peoples National Bank of Commerce, Miami, Florida, today and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. The FDIC entered into an agreement with Boston Bank of Commerce, a minority-owned bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, to assume all of the failed bank's deposits and essentially all of its assets.

September 10, 1999 - The OCC Closes Peoples National Bank of Commerce, Miami FDIC Approves the Assumption of All of the Bank's Deposits - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed Peoples National Bank of Commerce, Miami, Florida, at 6:00 p.m. today and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. The FDIC entered into an agreement with Boston Bank of Commerce, a minority-owned bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, to assume all the failed bank’s deposits and essentially all its assets.

September 9, 1999 - State Banking Commissioner John P. Burke announced that Connecticut banks and credit unions handled the date transition to September 9, 1999 smoothly without any reported computer system or operational problems. Years ago, computer programmers used the numerical entry of "9999" as an "end-program" command. September 9, 1999 was considered a critical date in banking industry Year 2000 preparations in the event that some electronic systems might misinterpret the date’s short-hand notation of 9-9-99 as a signal to end processing.

September 9, 1999 - NEW STATE BANK CHARTER — PNB Financial Bank, Lubbock, Texas
Deputy Commissioner Randall S. James of the Texas Department of Banking today announced the addition of Plains National Bank, Lubbock, Texas, to the state banking system. The bank’s Board of Directors decided to convert to a state charter, which took place effective September 1, 1999. The board is changing the bank’s name to "PNB Financial Bank," and the bank will retain its "PNB" logos. PNB’s home office location is at 5010 University Avenue in Lubbock, Texas.

September 8, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and among First Security Bancshares, Inc., Lake Park, Iowa; the Security State Bank, Milford, Iowa; and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

September 8, 1999 - FDIC Inspector General Gaston L. Gianni, Jr., announced today that Frank C. Romano, Jr., of Rowley, MA, the owner and operator of several Massachusetts nursing homes; Frank M. Griswold of Dorchester, MA; and David M. White, an architect from Goffstown, NH, were indicted in connection with two fraudulent involuntary bankruptcy petitions filed in December 1992 and September 1994 against the developers of "Brandon Woods of Hingham," a proposed elderly care facility in Hingham, MA. The three men were charged with conspiracy, corruptly impeding the functions of the FDIC and bankruptcy fraud.

September 7, 1999 - The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has issued for public comment the attached proposed revisions to Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Board is also requesting comment on proposed revisions to the Staff Commentary on Regulation B.

September 7, 1999 - The FDIC today issued its monthly list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Ordinarily, this would have been referred to as the August list. However, beginning this month, the name of the list is changed to reflect the month in which the individual bank ratings and corresponding evaluations are made publicly available by the FDIC.

September 7, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the proposal of Fleet Financial Group, Inc., to acquire BankBoston Corporation, both of Boston, Massachusetts, and its banking and nonbanking subsidiaries. The combined organization will be the largest banking institution in the northeastern United States. To address competitive concerns arising from the proposal, Fleet is required to divest more than 300 branches, controlling total deposits of more than $13 billion, located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. This is the largest divestiture ever to take place in connection with a banking combination.

September 7, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the application of United Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to acquire four branches of First Union National Bank, Charlotte, North Carolina, located in Philadelphia and to establish branches at the acquired locations.

September 7, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today issued the host state loan-to-deposit ratios that the banking agencies will use to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (Interstate Act). These ratios update data released on August 13, 1998.

September 7, 1999 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced eight new enforcement actions taken against national banks. The actions released today include two formal agreements, three cease and desist orders, three civil money penalties, and one removal.

September 7, 1999 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued the host state loan-to-deposit ratios that the agencies will use to determine compliance with Section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. Section 109 prohibits any bank from establishing or acquiring a branch outside of its home state primarily for the purpose of deposit production, and one test of compliance with the law involves a comparison of the bank's statewide loan-to-deposit ratio to the host state's loan-to-deposit ratio.

September 3, 1999 - The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has approved the assumption of insured local deposits of First National Bank of Keystone, Keystone, West Virginia, by Ameribank, Incorporated, Welch, West Virginia. Local insured depositors will have access to their funds on Tuesday, September 7, 1999. In the interim, they can continue to use their current checks. Ameribank, Incorporated, will notify customers as to the locations at which they can transact business.

September 2, 1999 - The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) today announced the availability of a list of savings associations scheduled for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examinations during the fourth quarter of 1999.

September 1, 1999 - The nation's thrift industry earned $2.12 billion in the second quarter of 1999, the best second quarter on record and just under the highest quarterly earnings of $2.23 billion set in the third quarter of 1998, Director Ellen Seidman of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) reported today.

September 1, 1999 - Commercial and residential real estate markets continued to show improvement during the early summer, according to the FDIC’s July Survey of Real Estate Trends. Many experts noted robust home sales and higher home sale prices. As for commercial markets, gains reported in April continued into the summer. The nationwide poll, which asks about developments in local real estate markets during the prior three months, was conducted in late July. FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue said, “Housing markets are showing continued strength despite recent rises in mortgage interest rates.”

September 1, 1999 - The First National Bank of Keystone, Keystone, West Virginia, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver.

September 1, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the proposal of Firstar Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to merge with Mercantile Bancorporation, Inc. ("Mercantile"), and thereby acquire Mercantile's wholly owned registered bank holding company, Ameribanc, Inc. ("Ameribanc"), its lead subsidiary bank, Mercantile Bank National Association, all in St. Louis, Missouri, and the other subsidiary banks and the nonbanking subsidiaries of Mercantile.