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Banking & Finance
VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Court decision could change future of brokerage firms
May 14, 2007
Paul CoanOn March 30, a U.S. Court of Appeals issued a decision that represents a tremendous victory for registered investment advisers,
individual investors and a defeat for big brokerage firms such as Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, and Goldman Sachs. The Financial
Plan- Association filed the lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that the SEC in 1999 had exceeded
its authority in creating an exemption from investment adviser registration under the Investment Advisers Act for stockbrokers
who charge asset-based fees...
MoreWeb rates get banks' attention: Some try to compete by boosting savings yields
May 14, 2007
Scott OlsonIn an effort to lure new customers, more traditional banks are beginning to emulate their Internet adversaries and offer online
savings accounts boasting much higher annual yields. Customers are increasingly turning to Internet banks because they offer
highyield savings accounts that don't require massive balances. First Internet Bank of Indiana, founded in 1998 by local tech
entrepreneur David Becker as the first state-chartered Internetonly bank, has seen its assets grow to more than $530 million
in less than a decade...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Signs of economic trouble are beginning to surface
May 7, 2007
Patrick BarkeyThere is a character in an old Hunter S. Thompson novel who shows up in every scene sweating profusely. Halfway through the
book, he finally explains it-sweating is normal. It's when he stops sweating that the alarm bells should sound. It's a little
like that with bankers. Except it's not literally sweat, but worry. Bankers are always worried-about loan quality, interestrate
spreads, renewed inflation, you name it. After all, the banking business is really business in general. How we collectively...
MoreInteractive poised to make incentives pay: Communications software-maker to add 637 jobs
May 7, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerInteractive Intelligence Inc. has come full circle. On May 2, Marion County's Metropolitan Development Commission was slated
to review a 10-year property tax abatement for the communications software maker. If the incentive is approved, Interactive
Intelligence plans to use it to hire 637 people at an average of $32.50 per hour. According to its filings with the city,
the company also will build a $15 million, 154,000-square-foot building next door to its current headquarters near Interstate
465 and West 71st...
MoreBEHIND THE NEWS: Housing slowdown roils state's mortgage industry
April 30, 2007
Greg AndrewsHome lending might sound like a staid business. But anyone weathering the changes now sweeping through the Indiana mortgage
market knows otherwise. Last year, we saw the sale of two huge Indiana-based home lenders-Fort Wayne-based Waterfield Mortgage
and Fishers-based Irwin Mortgage. Also sold was Carmel-based Oak Street Mortgage, which not long ago had been a high-flier
poised to go public. These weren't cases of owners cashing out at the top of the market. Quite the contrary. Irwin Mortgage
had become...
MoreCharity sees hope in Third World 'micro' lending
April 30, 2007
Chris O'MalleyIn the village of Armenia, in western El Salvador, the Barahona Bautista family last month got a $246 loan to start a pig
farm from Ambassadors for Children. Micro loans are new to Ambassadors, which assists children in more than a dozen countries.
MoreBroadbent's new era: Veteran real estate firm known for strip centers prepares for new headquarters, new leadership
April 23, 2007
Scott OlsonThe distinctive black-and-white façade of the Zipper Building at Washington Street and Virginia Avenue is gone, stripped
away like ceiling tiles from an old bedroom. Replacing the unusual exterior of the three-story structure will be a more traditional
brick and stone look-and a new moniker bearing the name of owner The Broadbent Co. Broadbent, the longtime developer of retail
strip centers including Castleton Plaza, Clearwater Crossing and Fashion Mall Commons bought the downtown building last October
and is set to...
MoreInvoice-borrowing a growing credit option
March 26, 2007
Jennifer WhitsonBank loans and credit cards are common solutions to small businesses' cash-flow crunches, but small-business owners increasingly
have another option: using unpaid invoices as collateral to borrow money from investors.
MoreVirtual bank making 'solid' move into lending: First Internet Bancorp. expands into mortgages with Landmark acquisition
March 19, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerOnline banks usually avoid brick-and-mortar overhead. Eliminating expense is the core of their business advantage. So why
did First Internet Bancorp spend $12 million to acquire traditional mortgage lender and savings bank Landmark Financial Corp.
and its two Indianapolis branches? Because the acquisition of Landmark provides First Internet an opportunity to finally broach
the mortgage market. Landmark, which traces its roots back to 1925, is best known as a new-construction underwriter in the
local home and commercial builder market. Its...
MoreBanks quick to embrace remote checking: Customers get on board as more institutions allow checks to be scanned, transmitted,
deposited electronically
March 19, 2007
Katie MaurerATMs are still convenient, but not much of a novelty anymore. That distinction now belongs to remote-deposit capture-a high-tech
advancement that guarantees a big payoff for banks and their customers alike. "From a technological standpoint, it's the biggest
thing happening in banking in 2007," said Lee Wetherington, senior vice president at Brentwood, Tenn.-based software maker
Goldleaf Financial Inc. Remote-deposit capture eliminates the need for businesses to physically deposit checks at their bank
branch. Using the new technology, checks are scanned...
MoreState's financial institutions leader quietly blazes trail: Appointment of Rice puts a credit union leader in top spot for
first time; bankers group withholds judgment
March 19, 2007
Scott OlsonRick Rice's ascension to chairman of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions typically would be the type of lowkey
government appointment that invokes nary a murmur of opposition. Why would it when current affairs facing the sevenmember
panel are as harmless as allowing state-chartered financial institutions to charge patrons who wish to skip a loan payment?
Yet, Rice's selection in late January as head of the DFI board has the credit union community gushing with pride, and the
banking industry...
MoreBowland Solutions Assessing a niche: Online job reviews help firm build global client base
March 19, 2007
Della PachecoSometimes it's hard to tell who hates performance reviews more-managers or employees. But what if the timeworn paper-based
annual assessment were replaced with a Web-based process that allows managers to consistently evaluate employees' skills against
company goals? Indianapolis-based Bowland Solutions has come up with just such an alternative, and it has helped the firm
build a client roster that includes heavyweights like international banking giant HSBC, music purveyor Virgin Megastores,
global pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline and Earthbound Farm, North America's largest...
MoreXM-Sirius merger is threat to local HD radio: Local broadcasters hustle to launch digital channels
March 12, 2007
Anthony SchoettleThe news of a potential merger between New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and Washington, D.C.-based XM Satellite
Radio Holdings Inc. comes at a critical time for local radio station operators. If the merger draws more listeners, that clearly
would be bad news for terrestrial radio stations already dealing with the Internet and Ipod, and could imperil their fledgling
high-definition initiative. Already, the proposed $11.4 billion merger is getting lots of media attention, and that's bound
to raise satellite radio's...
MoreWellPoint banks on the popularity of HSAs: Insurer moves to start bank, offer medical financing
February 26, 2007
J.K. WallTo do so the Indianapolis-based health insurer is moving to start its own bank, whose initial role will be to hold and manage
its customers' health savings accounts. An HSA is a relatively new breed of health insurance that places money-and more responsibility-in
consumers' hands. Well-Point bets more and more of its customers will start such accounts in the future. "We expect to see
continued strong growth for these products. There is a tremendous amount of interest in the marketplace...
MoreBanks squeeze into Hamilton County
February 12, 2007
Cory SchoutenAt least 35 new bank branches have sprouted in Hamilton County in the last three years, and more are on the way. Familiar
names like Charter One and Chase have added eight and seven branches, respectively. Other institutions are entering the market.
MoreSTATEHOUSE DISPATCH: This finally may be the year for property tax reform
February 12, 2007
Ed FeigenbaumBrace yourself for lots of action in the next two weeks, as the deadlines approach for bills originating in the House to be
passed to the Senate, and vice versa. While this is a long session of the General Assembly and one might assume this would
lead to more deliberative contemplation, the extra days do not seem to make much difference as deadlines approach. Some of
the larger issues that require more massaging and compromise tend not to be drafted...
MoreCity Securities aims to earn mega-deal: If approved, $450 million bond plan would pay off pre-1977 police, fire pensions
February 5, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerIf Mayor Bart Peterson gets his wish, a $450 million bond issue finally will settle Indianapolis' long-standing dilemma over
underfunded police and firefighter pensions once and for all. It will also generate up to $9 million in professional fees.
And locally based City Securities Corp. is laying the groundwork to earn a lion's share-even though investment banking is
dominated by giant companies in Manhattan. "I would assume that most of Wall Street has made a call," said City Securities
Vice...
MoreBuyout boom isn't all bad for Hoosiers
January 29, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerAnnouncements that major Indiana companies have been acquired are traditionally met with trepidation. But a rash of recent
buyouts of Indiana companies shows they're not always bad news.
MoreSuccessful software veteran forms investment firm: Mark Hill's $5 million underwrites startup BlueLock
January 22, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerWhen local IT entrepreneur Mark Hill sold his banking software company in August 2005, he emphasized the potential upside
for the area entrepreneurial community. Now he's making good on his word. Not content to bask on a beach somewhere, Hill has
organized an Indianapolisbased private investment company called Collina Ventures. With $10 million under management-all provided
by Hill-Collina already has made its first investment. This month, it risked $5 million in startup cash to organize Indianapolis-based
Blue-Lock LLC, a computer-hosting...
MoreLocal sign makers enjoy brisk business thanks to bank mergers
January 15, 2007
Cory SchoutenBank mergers have proven lucrative for local sign companies over the years. A string of mergers in the late 1980s and early
1990s wiped out the city's three big national banks--American Fletcher, Merchants National and Indiana National. In the years
since, the industry has continued to consolidate, spawning a flurry of additional name changes.
More'Old fashioned' values manufacture Motionwear's growth: Acquisition should fuel leotard-maker's expansion
December 18, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerIt might seem as though the low cost of labor overseas has shifted the entire U.S. textile industry to Asia, never to return.
Indianapolis-based leotard-maker Motionwear Inc. proves otherwise. The 120-employee company was acquired this month by the
Italian sportswear firm FILA for an undisclosed sum and, as a result, it's poised to expand locally. Tom Wilson started the
company in his attic in 1988 because his daughter Erin, an aspiring dancer, couldn't find performance apparel she liked in
retail...
MoreOld National slaps Durham with suit
December 11, 2006
Greg AndrewsIndianapolis entrepreneur Tim Durham has run into trouble with one of his lenders. Evansville-based Old National Bank says
in a Dec. 1 lawsuit that Durham's Indianapolis-based holding company,Obsidian Enterprises Inc., is in default on $2.6 million
in loans that came due Nov. 1.
MoreSurveillance success: Greenwood-based security firm's rapid growth draws national notice
November 27, 2006
Cory SchoutenThey all have high-tech surveillance systems from Greenwood-based American Sentry Guard. The company specializes in building
and distributing "intelligent video" systems capable of linking digital video with other computer-based information, such
as sales transaction records. Clients include schools, banks, casinos, government agencies and small businesses. Founded in
1999 by father-son team Jack and Jeff Brummett, American Sentry has become one of the nation's fastest-growing privately held
companies. This year, Inc. magazine ranked the company 150th on its "Inc. 500" list,...
MoreFast-growing Indy bank nearing $1B in assets: National Bank of Indianapolis credits service for climb
November 27, 2006
Cory SchoutenWhen cousins Michael and Morris Maurer decided to start a bank from scratch in 1993, they had several major issues to work
through. There were regulatory approvals to win and federal deposit coverage to secure. They needed investors, bankers, office
space and technology. But even the seemingly small details required time-consuming care. For one: selecting a name. It had
to evoke a feeling of local control and continuity. It had to call to mind the company's strategy of long-term relationships...
MoreBULLS & BEARS: Why investing in Kimball is paying huge dividends
November 20, 2006
Ken SkarbeckJust more than a year ago in this column, I suggested Kimball International's stock might be an attractive investment. At
the time we felt that, here was a company in our own back yard-Jasper-that possessed the kind of favorable investment c h
a r a c t e r i s t i c s investors should seek. The column noted that the company had "no long-term debt and holds $117 million,
or $3 a share, in cash. The stock...
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You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.
For those who let this information strike a nerve, remember that this is still the America that allows the freedom to achieve dreams and goals. Should you really chastise those who are given a perk on a deal that is supported by the consumer (that is until they don't like the deal anymore due to envy) or should the dream of rewards for working be looked at a little closer? I say lets stick to the deal, go to work,earn our keep, shoot for dreams, change our jobs to have that dream or shut up about others achievements ..............while we are still afforded this liberty of America !
Three Magi
Cats out of the bag. The object of the game is to get acquired. That means the company has no idea how to grow beyond a certain point. Email is a 1990s technology. I have laughed at this company since day one. Such a small bit player. If it was anywhere but here, it wouldn't be newsworthy.
Esther, Indy has passed Chicago in the local government corruption arena. Don't downgrade us. We're No. 1 in the Midwest.