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BEHIND THE NEWS: Another daunting challenge for veteran exec Cornelius

Anyone surprised that at age 62, Jim Cornelius would take on the bruising job of leading embattled drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb shouldn’t be. After all, the Zionsville businessman has surprised observers before. This is an executive who 12 years ago gave up one of the top jobs in corporate America-chief financial officer of Eli Lilly and Co.-to become chairman of Guidant Corp., then a much-maligned collection of medical-device firms that Lilly was spinning off into a stand-alone company. A risky move,…

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INVESTING: For investors, a world of opportunity awaits in Singapore

Westerners have been dreaming about the riches of the Far East for centuries. Christopher Columbus didn’t set out to discover America. He was looking for a faster route to India and China. More than 500 years later, the dream is not completely fulfilled, but riches can still be had, as long as you have some to begin with. I just returned from Singapore. This tiny nation-state is the most densely populated country on earth, and it is smack dab in…

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First Internet’s acquisition is no run-of-the-mill bank:

BEHIND THE NEWS First Internet’s acquisition is no run-of-the-mill bank Bank mergers happen all the time in Indiana, but this one is about as unique as they come. The buyer, Indianapolis-based First Internet Bancorp, was one of the nation’s first Web-only banks when it opened its doors in 1999. Today, it’s among the top five in that field, with assets topping $445 million. The seller is Indianapolis-based Landmark Financial Corp., parent of Landmark Savings Bank. Landmark Financial, with assets of…

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Credit union ordered to pay ex-executive $3.4M

A Marion County judge has ordered an Indianapolis credit union to pay its former CEO $3.4 million, saying it wrongly froze the executive’s accounts after accusing him of financial improprieties three years ago.

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Dispute clouds Sky buyout of Union Federal

Union Federal Bank’s Fort Wayne-based parent is locked in a dispute that could put in peril the Indianapolis financial institution’s $330 million sale to Bowling Green, Ohio-based Sky Financial Group Inc.

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INVESTING: Here’s what I’d say if strategist Abby Cohen came by

Abby Joseph Cohen, chief equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, stopped by my office last week after a brief stint on CNBC. I took advantage of the opportunity and sat her down for a good, oldfashioned interview. This is a rare treat, so let’s enjoy, tongue planted firmly in cheek. HAUKE: Abby, thank you for paying us a visit. You have climbed to the peak of Wall Street and it is an honor to speak with you. COHEN: Well, I am…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Consumers rarely raise banks above commodity status

Toothpaste. Laundry bleach. Cat food. Banking services. Despite the hopes of many bank executives, vast numbers of consumers rarely elevate their banks beyond everyday commodity status. Through traditional advertising and marketing, many banks attempt to differenti ate themselves as the bank of choice or the bank that makes a difference. Repeat the tag line often enough and hopefully potential customers will start to believe it. One fact underscores this unfortunate commodity service status: According to recent market research, the No….

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MainSource grabs opportunities for growth: Greensburg-based bank not shy about acquisitions

Honda Motor Co.’s decision to build a massive auto manufacturing plant near Greensburg has the small Decatur County town abuzz with excitement. But a company already entrenched there is making some noise of its own. MainSource Financial Group Inc. has increased assets an impressive 50 percent during the past year largely due to four acquisitions made by the publicly traded bank holding company. “We’re a little opportunistic,” admitted MainSource President and CEO James Saner. “We really want to grow, give…

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Investment firm taps local talent: Riderwood opens office, targets mid-size companies

An East Coast investment-banking firm is opening an Indianapolis office and has recruited three high-profile professionals who bring a wealth of experience to manage operations. Towson, Md.-based The Riderwood Group Inc. wants to help midsize companies raise $5 million to $200 million in capital, a range largely ignored here by outside rivals, firm executives said. “There really is not a national mid-market investment bank [in Indianapolis],” company President Mitchell Fillet said. “This is a place where the big firms have…

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Hitching its wagon to central Indiana: Wells Fargo quietly lassoes big share of local loans

How big is the portfolio? Very big. How does it stack up to its rivals? Nobody knows for sure. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. requires banks to report the deposits they hold at branches, but it doesn’t require banks to spell out how much commercial business they’re generating geographically. “It’s one of the biggest frustrations of the bank information that we [compile],” said Karen Dorway, president of Bauer Financial Inc., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based bank rating service that tracks market…

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Alley’s new aim: Consolidate electronics industry: Ex-banker shooting for $170M in revenue by 2012

Since purchasing Escient Solutions in early 2003 and changing its name to Electronic Evolutions Inc., Mike Alley has increased revenue 35 percent, to $6.5 million. That’ll be small potatoes if Alley’s dreams for the company pan out. Alley, former Fifth Third Bank of Central Indiana president and CEO, wants to be a consolidator in the fragmented electronics and automation design and installation industry. Toward that end, he partnered in late June with electronics industry veteran Daniel Knotts and formed E2…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary:

On June 1, Gov. Mitch Daniels and officials from the Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund announced the Indiana Investment Fund, a $100 million investment vehicle. The fund will invest in early-stage startups and loans to mature firms. It will invest in Indiana-What’s wrong with local investment pros? based agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, transportation and life sciences companies. Credit Suisse was selected to manage this new fund. As a global investment bank, Credit Suisse certainly has skilled bankers who can evaluate…

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Radio tests HD waters: Indianapolis on leading edge of ‘revolutionary’ technology

And more are coming. Indianapolis is leading the charge toward high-definition radio, thanks to the strong presence of national players such as Emmis Communications Corp. and Clear Channel Communications, which operate a total of seven stations here. But the technological revolution reaches far beyond our airwaves. Industry experts call HD the most radical change in the radio landscape in 50 years, despite the fact that few listeners have the special radio receiver necessary to tune in the new channels. “We’re…

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Buzzing with Activity: Unique Broad Ripple biz ready to offer franchises

Buzzing With ActivityUnique Broad Ripple biz ready to offer franchises For business partners Wendy Reed and Pam Weaver, life these days is starting to look a lot like the frenzy their company name projects: Sugar Buzz. They’re not really hopped up on sweets, but the Indianapolis women are flying high nonetheless-buoyed by the glory of being featured in a national magazine and the promise of franchising their unusual mix of children’s parties and dropin day care. The longtime pals combined…

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eImagine Technology Group: Technology firm aims to deliver service with its software Owner: Hiring good employees key to small company’s success

Communication-and simplicity-can be a challenge when it comes to tech talk. “It’s like the old adage, if you ask a tech guy what time it is, he’ll tell you how to build a watch,” said Joel Russell, president of Indianapolis-based software developer eImagine Technology Group. But Russell works around potential “lingo” problems when he’s meeting with customers. No matter the industry, he looks for ways to automate inefficient processes using computer software. His goal is to save his clients time…

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Credit Suisse applies Indiana private-equity-investment model in other states:

New York-based investment bank Credit Suisse is building quite a book of private-equity business in Indiana. Credit Suisse has been chosen to manage the Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund’s new $105 million Indiana Investment Fund. It also directs the $73 million Indiana Future Fund, which was launched by BioCrossroads, a local organization dedicated to developing the state’s life sciences industry. Indiana’s not the only place Credit Suisse is applying its expertise. Last fall, Ohio formed the Ohio-Midwest Fund, a regionally…

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Women MD numbers soar: Title IX passage in 1970 credited with spurring educational opportunities

When Colleen Brown graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in May, she was part of a class making history. For the first time, the medical school was graduating more women physicians than men-131 and 128, respectively. Since 1970, there has been a 10-fold increase in the number of women physicians, according to a February 2006 study by the American Medical Association. In 1970, only 25,404 women graduated in the United States in all medical specialties. By 2004, the…

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Local firm snags major deal from Wall Street: City Securities leads $390 million airport bond issue

Indianapolis-based City Securities Corp. is leading a $390 million bond issue for the Indianapolis International Airport expansion. To snag the deal, it overcame a host of far larger competitors on Wall Street. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of local investment banking are greatly exaggerated. It’s the second-largest bond deal in City Securities’ 82-year history, surpassed only by the city’s 2002 purchase of Indianapolis Water Co. for $580 million. City Securities also led the water deal. “We’ve done…

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“No habla ingles”: Immigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English

No habla inglesImmigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English Osvaldo Escobedo was hungry to learn English. It was bad enough when he couldn’t advance at the Nissan Motor Co. plant in Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, because he couldn’t converse in the business language of English. Later, when he came to the United States, he couldn’t eat much more than what he could pronounce. “When I go to restaurant, I ask [for] ‘coffee and doughnuts….

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