Big Three Banks Control 1/3 Of All Deposits
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-After a slew of mergers and purchases, the three largest American banks now control fully one-third of all U.S. deposits, data culled by SNL Financial shows. Bank of America continued to hold the top spot with $720 billion in deposits, followed by Wells Fargo at $712 billion and JPMorgan Chase at $649 billion. Wells Fargo jumped to second on the list thanks to its purchase of Wachovia, which was ranked third in last year's numbers. The new data stands in sharp contrast to 2007's numbers, which showed the combined market share of the top three banks (Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wachovia) at just under 23%. And those numbers could just grow further thanks to continued upheaval in the banking world and a nearly 4% increase in retail deposits.
Venture Capitalists Suffer Worst Year Since Tech Bust
SAN FRANCISCO-Add venture capitalists to the list of victims of the economic downturn. With no IPOs and only $3.9 billion generated by mergers and acquisitions in the fourth quarter, 2008 was the worst liquidity year for American venture capitalists since 2003 when the lull of the tech bust hit its peak. The report by Dow Jones VentureSource showed that U.S. venture-backed companies generated just over $24 billion in liquidity last year, down 58% from 2007. Only seven companies completed offerings in '08, raising $551 million-a huge drop from the $6.8 billion raised in '07 by 76 companies.
The increased amount of time it is taking for venture-backed firms to achieve liquidity and the recent stock market crash leading to a virtual IPO freeze will only serve to make it tougher on venture capitalists until the equities market stages a comeback and consumer confidence rises.
Insurance Firm Moves To Debit Cards For Claims
ATLANTA-Assurant Specialty Property is now giving its customers the option of receiving a Chase Visa-branded debit cards instead of paper checks for claims settlements. A company VP said the debit cards puts cash in the hands of catastrophic loss victims much faster than checks as the cards can be used immediately while the checks can take up to three business weeks to clear. The option is currently only available for renters insurance policyholders but will be opened up to property and casualty programs later in the year.
For info: www.assurantspecialtyproperty.com
Nation Gets Its First Comm. Development Bank
CHICAGO-The Chicago Community Trust placed $5 million worth of CDs into (CD) ShoreBank, the nation's first community development and environmental bank. The bank offers "socially responsible" accounts where funds are marked for redevelopment projects in the Second City's low-to moderate-income neighborhoods and provides individuals, foundations and small businesses with financing for homeownership, as well as development opportunities to help reduce both energy costs and consumption. Shorebank's Home Energy Conservation Loan program encourages home improvements and "green design" that can lower a property owner's monthly utility bills by 25-50% while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
For info: www.cct.org or www.sbk.com
J.P. Morgan Launches New Series Of Podcasts
NEW YORK-J.P. Morgan Treasury Services has launched a new podcast series designed to help businesses in today's troubled economic environment. The cast in the series features Payless ShoeSource describing how the company reduced accounts payable operating costs by nearly 80% and eliminated paper invoices after implementing J.P. Morgan's Order-to-Pay service which enables customers to automate electronic purchase deliveries, invoicing and payments. The bank giant's chief economist Bruce Kasman speaks in the second cast in the series on the Treasury outlook for 2009 and provides insight on the depths of the economic downturn as well as the path to recovery. More are planned for later in the year and will discuss practical advice and case study presentations on how treasury products are helping businesses cut costs, save time and reduce risk.
For more info: www.jpmorgan.com/ts
Fidelity Wins Monitor Award From Corporate Insight
NEW YORK-Corporate Insight bestowed 19 Monitor Awards to Fidelity for its Web offerings in the financial services industry. The firm was singled out as 2008's big winner for providing its "customers with timely news and commentary resources, as well as transparency and communication regarding how the firm was fairing" and lauded its user-friendly website. Bank of America was named the Bank Monitor Award winner while Chase and HSBC brought home awards in the credit card category. Corporate Insight evaluated more than 70 firms in over a dozen categories, including online help resources, transactional capabilities, account applications and client messaging.
For info: www.corporateinsight.com
