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Portions of "NewsWatch" are reprinted with permission from "NewsWatch Today", a publication of
the Independent Community Bankers of America, and brought to you as a
part of your bank's relationship with the Arkansas Community Bankers
Association. We're pleased to provide information about current
issues affecting community banks. If you prefer not to receive
these updates please reply to this email and enter "unsubscribe" in the Subject line.
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USDA Projects
a Record Ag Export Year
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U.S.
agricultural exports are expected to reach a record $109 billion for
fiscal year 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. Grains and
animal products are expected to account for two-thirds of this year's
export gains, including a record 63 million tons of corn. Canada and
Mexico remain the two U.S. agricultural markets, with exports to those
countries forecast to reach $30.5 billion in 2008, about $5 billion
above 2007. Exports to China are forecast to reach a record $10.5
billion, up almost $3.4 billion from 2007 levels.
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Latest SAR
Filing Trend Report Available
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The latest
summary and breakdown of Suspicious Activity Report filings from
financial institutions is available from FinCEN. The agency report, The SAR Activity Review-By
the Numbers, tracks filings by state, month and year. The report
also identifies the relationships suspects have to the filing
institution. It covers SAR filing through Dec. 31, 2007. rate
mortgages.
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Agencies Issue
Sample Mortgage Disclosure Illustrations
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The federal
banking agencies published a set of consumer disclosure illustrations to
help lenders offering hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage products. The
illustrations, which present ideas on communicating information on
escrow payments, prepayment penalties, balloon payments and premiums
for low-doc loans, will help institutions implement the consumer
protection sections of the Interagency Statement on Subprime Mortgage
Lending adopted by the agencies last July. They are not model
forms and institutions are not required to use them.
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Public
Community Banks Still Offer Great Value
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Having avoided
major losses from risky subprime lending that eviscerated bottom lines
at several of the largest banks and finance companies, many publicly
traded community banks continue to maintain their dividends and provide
investors solid returns, The Wall Street Journal reported. "Some
of the best dividends around can be had from smaller banks," the
WSJ advised. And community banks that survived the past year with
minimal damage to their balance sheets should remain in solid financial
position in the months ahead, the newspaper added.
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First-Quarter
Thrift Earnings Down, But Improving
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The housing
sector's problems drove U.S. savings institutions to post a $617
million overall loss for the first quarter, an improvement over the
$8.75 billion net loss the industry recorded for the fourth quarter of
last year, the Office of Thrift Supervision reported reported. The industry
set aside a record $7.6 billion in loan-loss provisions during the
first quarter, representing 2.01 percent of average assets.
The OTS said the industry's noncurrent loans and
repossessed assets stood at 2.06 percent of assets in the first
quarter, up from 1.66 percent in the previous quarter and from 0.80
percent a year ago. Savings institutions' overall return on average
assets stood at a negative 0.16 percent for the first quarter, an
improvement over the negative 2.31 percent ROA generated during the
fourth quarter but below the 0.97 percent ROA in the first quarter of
2007. The FDIC will release first-quarter earnings data for federally
insured institutions on Thursday. Read OTS Highlights.
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