Monthly Bulletin – June 2002

State of California

Gray Davis, Governor

Business Transportation and Housing Agency
Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary
Department of Financial Institutions

http://www.dfi.ca.gov
California Seal

Monthly Bulletin
Volume 5, Number 12

June, 2002

DFI Endorses FDIC Goals to Make Financial Literacy a National Priority

Commissioner of Financial Institutions Donald R. Meyer endorses the recently announced Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) agency goal of establishing 1,000 partnerships with organizations and institutions in all 50 states to promote financial literacy by distributing 100,000 copies of its Money Smart financial education curriculum and reaching 1 million consumers during the next five years.

“Currently, millions of Americans do not have a banking relationship with any traditional financial institution. These ‘unbanked’ – estimated at anywhere from 10 to 13 percent of U.S. households – are primarily low to moderate income, minorities, and/or recent immigrants,” FDIC Chairman Don Powell said. “There is also a deep divide along educational lines.”

Some of the features that have made Money Smart popular are:

  • Money Smart was designed by educational experts;
  • It is easy to teach and easy to learn;
  • It is targeted to low- and moderate-income adults;
  • It was designed to be flexible; it can be taught in its entirety, or specific modules can be used to fill in the gaps in other financial education programs;
  • It carries the FDIC seal;
  • It is not copyrighted, thus encouraging reproduction and wide dissemination;
  • It is designed to move adults into healthy banking relationships;
  • Banks can receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit for their involvement in offering Money Smart in their communities;
  • It is currently available in English and Spanish; Korean and Chinese versions are now being tested; and
  • It is free to users.

DFI licensees are encouraged to obtain more information about this initiative by visiting the FDIC’s Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2002/pr6602.html.

Assessment Rates to be Set after the Budget is Signed

We have been evaluating licensees’ total assets and the estimated cost of administering the Department to determine the assessment rates for the coming fiscal year. However, the rates cannot be set until the State Budget has passed the Legislature and been signed by the Governor.

Assessment invoices will be sent out as soon as that occurs and will be due thirty days from that date. For more information, please contact Patrick Carroll at (415) 263-8559 or by e-mail at pcarroll@dfi.ca.gov.

Extraordinary Situation—Terrorism

Questions and Answers

We have received a number of questions from licensees about how to comply with the request that was published in the May 2002 issue of the Monthly Bulletin for board resolutions pertaining to personnel policies and business resumption plans in light of the September 11 event. To assist our licensees in complying with the directive, we have compiled some of the questions and our responses in the following table:

  • Is there any standard language or examples? If a bank already has a disaster recovery and personnel policy that is reviewed annually by the board does it need to make a new resolution or can it send the one from when the policy was last reviewed?
  • There is no standard language or example. The resolution should be done after the policy has been reviewed within the context of terrorism. An old approval will not do unless it was done post 9/11 and terrorism was considered within the review. Just a simple board resolution that the policies were reviewed and approved, given the requested review items – hiring and background checks in personnel policy and acts of terrorism within the context of a disaster recovery plan. The issue is to review policies within the context of the 9/11 event.
  • Are background checks required on current employees or on new hires only?
  • DFI does not require background checks. We are asking licensees to consider their policy on background checks within the context of the 9/11 event.
  • For offices of foreign other nation banks, what other than board resolutions will be acceptable since it is an arduous task for FBOs to get a board resolution.
  • DFI accepts management directives from the Head Office or main U.S. office of the foreign bank in lieu of board resolutions. When the California office is the main U.S. office, the management directive would come from the Head Office in the home country.

For more information, please contact Peter Van Hoecke, at (916) 322-1571.

Monthly Activity Report

Commercial Bank Activity

Mergers

Capitol Valley Bank, Roseville, with and into Humboldt Bank, Eureka
Effected: 5/31/02

Chinatrust Savings Bank of Washington (In Organization), Bellevue, with and into Chinatrust Bank (U.S.A.), Torrance
Filed: 6/11/02

First Western Bank, Simi Valley, with and into Union Bank of California, N. A., San Francisco
Effected: 5/13/02

Kerman State Bank, Kerman, with and into Westamerica Bank, San Rafael
Approved: 6/5/02
Effected: 6/20/02

Palomar Community Bank, Escondido, with and into Redlands Centennial Bank, Redlands.
Effected: 5/24/02

Tehama Bank, Red Bluff, with and into Humboldt Bank, Eureka
Effected: 5/31/02

Conversion to Commercial Bank

Imperial Capital Bank, La Jolla
Approved: 6/11/02

Purchase of Partial Business Unit

Bank of Agriculture & Commerce, Stockton, to acquire the Concord and Antioch Branches of City National Bank, Beverly Hills
Effected: 5/31/02

Central California Bank, Sonora, to acquire Sonora Main, Junction, Twain Harte and Columbia Branches and Arnold place of business of Western Sierra National Bank, Cameron Park
Filed: 6/5/02

First Bank & Trust, San Francisco, to acquire the Denton and Garland Branches of Jefferson Heritage Bank, Denton, Texas, and Union Planters Bank N.A., Memphis, Tennessee
Approved: 6/14/02
Effected: 6/22/02
(Jefferson Heritage Bank, Denton, Texas, merged with and into Union Planters Bank N.A., Memphis, Tennessee, immediately prior to the transaction.)

Gateway Business Bank, Lakewood, to acquire the Laguna Hills Branch of eosbank, San Mateo
Filed: 6/12/02

Industrial Bank Activity

Sale of Partial Business Unit

Fremont Investment and Loan, Anaheim, to sell the Glendale Branch to Jackson Federal Bank, Fullerton
Filed: 5/31/02
Approved: 6/14/02
Effected: 6/21/02

Premium Finance Company Activity

New Premium Finance Company

Blackhorse Premium Finance Corp
2501 East Chapman Avenue, Suite 100, Fullerton, Orange County
Approved: 6/12/02

Foreign (Other Nation) Bank Activity

Sale of Partial Business Unit

Banca di Roma, to sell the San Francisco depositary agency to Minghetti Finanziaria S.p.A.(which will change its name to Banca di Roma S.p.A. effective July 1, 2002)
Filed: 6/11/02
Approved: 6/26/02

New Office

Minghetti Finanziaria S.p.A. (which will change its name to Banca di Roma S.p.A. effective July 1, 2002)
One Market Street, Stewart Tower, Suite 1000, San Francisco, San Francisco County (Depositary Agency)
Filed: 6/11/02
Approved: 6/26/02

BNP Paribas
725 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County (Representative Office)
Filed: 5/9/02
Approved: 6/13/02
Opened: 6/28/02

Discontinuance of Office

BNP Paribas
725 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County (Wholesale Branch)
Filed: 5/9/02
Approved: 6/13/02
Discontinued: 6/13/02

Foreign (Other State) Bank

Discontinuance of Facility

Sunrise Bank of Arizona
4570 Executive Drive, San Diego, San Diego County
Notified: 6/6/02
Discontinued: 6/30/02

Credit Union Activity

Merger

Electrical Workers Local #180 Federal Credit Union, Napa, into 1st Pacific Credit Union, Vallejo
Effected: 5/30/02

Field of Membership

Twenty one credit unions received approvals to add 48 new fields of membership during May 2002.

Bylaw Amendments

Two credit unions received approvals for two bylaw amendments during May 2002.

Transmitters of Money Abroad Activity

New Transmitters

Girosol Corporation
Opened: 3/6/02

 

DONALD R. MEYER
Commissioner of Financial Institutions

Bulletin for month ended
June, 2002, issued pursuant
to Financial Code, Section 258

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