ABA Banking Journal - August 2008 - (Page 3) Banking JOURNAL Vol. C, No. 8 August 2008 www.ababj.com ABA CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS BRIEFING Banks could win or lose with barcode mandate . . . 7 Time to wise-up about “Intelligent Mail Barcodes.” By William Streeter Snapshot: Residential lending, a few bright spots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fair value accounting: not fit for banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Past ABA Chair heads to the Fed . . 9 100th Anniversary: Then & Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 What came out of the woods in ’44 FEATURES COVER STORY Filling the gap, but carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 By Steve Cocheo. One man’s poison is another man’s poisson, and some banks and savings institutions find fishing for home-loans more successful now that mortgage brokers and some smaller mortgage bankers have reeled up their lines and gone home. Better catches aren’t universal, however, and even the successful have found loans harder to land. Private mortgage insurance represents a major challenge. ABA RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 COMMUNITY BANKING Have your branch, and sell it too . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Don’t look to the horizon for capital. It’s under you, if you own your locations and go the sale-leaseback route. BRANCH DESIGN What inspires most?. . . . . . . 37 By Lauren Bielski. “If you build it, they will come.” Maybe, but if you want them to come again, they’d better like what they see. Here we ask designers what they look at when seeking to develop a new look for a bank. Not surprisingly, brand plays a big role. But there are other considerations to keep in mind when trying to make over your branch. Ten tips from today’s designers. . . . . . . 40 How to make your branch investment pay off. Step Six: Be sure to have a “doorbuster.” Pass the Aspirin Commercial real-estate exams. [Appearing only in the Digital Magazine this month, on p. 16A (www.ababj.com), and also at www.passtheaspirinplus.com] TECH TOPICS Guided by feedback: Measuring customer engagement . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Customer engagement— loosely defined as measuring how much you customers adore you— grows as an indicator of success. Just how is it being measured? In Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Payment engine offers single view of customer activity. ON ABABJ.COM Our latest web exclusives: • Why fair-value accounting means trouble: expert commentary; critical regulatory letters • Podcast: more on loan workouts • New blogs: Compare credit problems, solutions; Basel II updates and analysis COLUMNS Editor’s Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Control the pendulum ABA Chairman’s Position . . . . . . .14 Involvement now in elections will pay off COMPLIANCE CLINIC Avoiding being the “banker who knew too much”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 This guide to what’s okay to find out about prospective employees can keep you from breaking the law in the name of thoroughness. Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 How far will housing prices fall? By Mark Vitner and Adam York Banker’s Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 White Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 To advertise/Index of advertisers . . . .55 Coming in September ABA BJ and the Digital Magazine… • Seeking capital? Solutions you may miss • Marketing innovation on the web • Mobile banking developments • Data security • Plus: Eye on fee income Subscribe at www.ababj.com ABA BANKING JOURNAL/AUGUST 2008 3 http://www.ababj.com http://www.ababj.com http://www.passtheaspirinplus.com http://ABABJ.COM http://www.ababj.com
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