ABA Banking Journal - August 2008 - (Page 8) briefing PLANET into one multi-service code. (ACS refers to Address Correction Service; POSTNET is a delivery point code; and PLANET is a confirmation code for tracking mail delivery, according to Pitney Bowes.) The new program has two options: “Full Service” and “Basic.” Under the Full Service option, says USPS, “mailers will be required to apply Intelligent Mail barcodes on their letter and flat mailpieces, trays and sacks, and other containers. Mailers will also be required to submit their postage statements and mailing documentation electronically.” Further, and this is particularly significant, sources say, “unlike the POSTNET barcode that only contains the routing code, the Intelligent Mail barcode contains additional fields that encode special services, identify the mailer and the class of mail, and uniquely number the mailpiece.” In other words, each mailer will have an ID, and each piece of mail will have a unique number that cannot be reused for 45 days from the “date of induction” (when the piece enters the Postal System). These requirements give the Postal Service a much deeper view of the mailing process. Each mailpiece can be tracked back to a specific sender, as Pitney Bowes notes, which should help mailers avoid being assessed higher postage for an entire mailing based on a spot check that finds a handful of items in the wrong tray. But it also means the Postal Service can better monitor mailers who are less than diligent about address and sorting quality. Under the Basic option, mailers will only be required to use the IMB on letters and flat pieces in place of the POSTNET barcode, not on trays or containers. Mailers will not be required to uniquely number each mailpiece. Kevin Conti said that most regional and all large banks mail with barcodes, while most community banks do not. He says a good rule of thumb is if a company mails 100,000 mailpieces a year or more, it makes sense to take advantage of automation pricing. Tough to figure benefits There are potentially very significant benefits to use of IMB, particularly the full service option. The Postal Service Snapshot Residential lending: a few bright spots T Source: SNL Financial house” television reality shows. he residential lending market has taken a well documented Also in the list is the District of Columbia, whose suburbs beating over the last year. During, and leading up to the are suffering in the aftermath of the housing market collapse. start of the crisis, many banks saw their residential lending lines The district’s absolute loan growth amount is relatively small, suffer as poorly regulated mortgage lenders popped up everybut may be an indicator of how urban areas benefit from higher where, taking business from the banks. Following the high transportation costs as people move back into the city. times, however, many of these lenders went under, as liquidity Residential lending certainly took a hit over the year, and the dried up and the secondary market for the loans they originated worse may not be over in some regions. There will be pockets of went away, too. The collapse of these lenders may help some robust activity, however, and opportunities for banks that weathbanks with money to lend in markets not decimated by the er the storm.—John McCune, SNL Financial, jmccune@snl.com aftermath of those heady days. (See this month’s cover story.) To get a sense for the markets that might be performing reasonably well given the general state of the market, SNL Financial took a look Residential Loan Growth Trends at state-level aggregate commercial bank resi(U. S. commercial bank state aggregates) dential lending data from FDIC Call Reports. Top 10 states: annualized linked-quarter growth We looked for markets with the top growth Aggregate residential loans Growth rates on a linked-quarter basis, from the first($000) rate quarter 2008 compared to the fourth-quarter of State 2008 Q1 2007 Q4 (%)* 2007 (see table). While not an ideal type of Alabama 49,772,973 47,303,584 20.88 analysis, given the ability of bank holding comSouth Dakota 125,830,103 119,877,200 19.86 panies to do things like shift loans among subWyoming 951,434 910,126 18.15 sidiaries, it still gives a glimpse into what is Wisconsin 25,293,998 24,212,817 17.86 happening in the markets. Washington (State) 5,610,687 5,409,228 14.9 The table demonstrates that, on a linkedDistrict of Columbia 299,793 290,059 13.42 quarter basis, the states that are currently seeSouth Carolina 8,429,034 8,178,755 12.24 ing the most robust growth are the likes of Oklahoma 6,612,925 6,425,973 11.64 Alabama, S. D., and Wyoming, with growth Montana 2,241,433 2,178,919 11.48 rates well above the national aggregate decline Hawaii 6,306,651 6,141,159 10.78 of -3.86%. These are all states where there U.S. aggregate ($mill) 1,992,718 2,012,143 -3.86 was not a huge run-up, necessarily, in real estate pricing, and generally not states that were featured in the popular “flip your Notes: * Annualized “Residential Loans” include all domestic 1-4 family loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit 8 AUGUST 2008/ABA BANKING JOURNAL Subscribe at www.ababj.com http://www.snl.com http://www.ababj.com
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