Business briefs.
COLUMN: BUSINESS BRIEFS TELEGRAM & GAZETTE Bloomberg Index Central Massachusetts +0.16 171.86 Volume: 114,370,130 Up: 12 Down: 10 Unchanged: 7 Gainer: Waters Corp. $61.05 +$1.34 (Volume of...

SB Corp. to hit P4-B target lending to SME sector.
Byline: BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT State-owned lending agency Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.) is confident it could breach the P4-billion mark in credit lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the government moves to perk up entrepreneurial activities especially in the countryside. Small Business Corp. chairman...

Bank of the Philippine Islands 155th Anniversary.
ESTABLISHED on August 1, 1851, as the Banco Espanol-Filipino de Isabel II (Spanish-Filipino Bank of Isabel II), named after the Queen of Spain, Isabella II, daughter of former King Ferdinand VII, the bank was the second Philippine bank during the Spanish era, after a bank founded by Francisco Rodriguez,...

Climate friendly products from the finance sector.
Habitat looks at some interesting new services designed to encourage us to act more sustainably, and save money. ********** IN THE APRil 2003 EDITION of Habitat we reported on the rising concern in the insurance and banking community regarding the risks associated with climate change....

The back door: slamming it shut; there's no foolproof system for keeping customers. But one regional bank found a measure of success through a program that combines communicating, testing and measuring.
Commerce Bank, Kansas City, Mo., recently boosted its late of customer retention through a new program implemented with the assistance of an outside firm that helped with strategic marketing, retention and research issues. ABA Bank Marketing posed some questions about the bank's approach to Mindy Stimson, the...

Plugging the deposit drain: sometimes outright customer defection is not as big of a problem as incremental deposit erosion. One way to hold on to dollars is to develop a steady stream of new products that appeal to customers as their financial behavior evolves--and they make the transition from one life stage to another.
Editor's Note In this issue, we present a special two-article section on the topic of "Customer and Deposit Retention." The first article discusses how new financial products can help financial institutions to hold on to deposit accounts. The second article discusses the importance of improved customer service...

RCBC launches new savings product.
Byline: ELISOR L. RECIDE Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), expects to strengthen its remittance business and generate more deposits, with the unveiling of its new product yesterday called-- Abot Pangarap Savings Plan. Through its consumer banking arm, RCBC Saving Bank, the new innovative product is...

RCBC sells Bankard to GE unit.
Byline: FIL C. SIONIL Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), owned and controlled by Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco, has sold for still undisclosed amount its credit card subsidiary, Bankard Inc. to GE Consumer Finance (GECF). The acquisition by GECF, the financial arm of US-based General Electric Co.,...

UCPB earmarks P800 M for mortgage-based SME loan facility.
Byline: FIL C. SIONIL In anticipation of an increase in loan availments, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) has set aside some P800 million for its new mortgage-based facility, particularly packaged for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to UCPB First Vice President David C. Mercado,...

Customer Retention Analysis.
A new service from Washington, D.C.-based Furash & Co. permits retail bankers to compare their customer retention with industry averages. CoRE (Comprehensive Retention Evaluation services) is intended to compare a bank's core deposit retention rates with the industry as a whole. Subscribers receive quarterly reports based on the company's...