Notes, news and views on community banking

FHL Bank earnings positive. The Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines, Chicago and Topeka reported earnings results for 2010.. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines reported unaudited 2010 net income of $133 million, compared to $145.9 million in 2009.. The bank reported that its advance business declined, as demand for liquidity waned. As a result, the bank recorded significantly more income from prepayment fees, $174.0 million in 2010, compared to $10.3 million in 2009.. The banks' total assets decreased to $55.6 billion on Dec. 31, 2010 from $64.7 billion on Dec. 31, a2009. The bank said the decrease was primarily attributable to a decline in advances and investments. Advances decreased to $29.3 billion from $35.7 billion during the year. Investments decreased to $18.6 billion from $20.8 billion due to the sale of trading securities and principal repayments on mortgage-backed securities.. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago reported net income of $366 million, compared to a loss of $65 million in 2009.The bank said the improvement was due to strong net interest income resulting from balance sheet restructuring and management, unexpectedly high levels of prepayment fees from resolved or merged members, and gains on derivatives and hedging activities.. Advances outstanding at year-end 2010 were $18.9 billion, 22 percent lower than the previous year-end level of $24.1 billion. Mortgage Partnership Finance loans held in portfolio declined $5.5 billion (23 percent) to $18.3 billion. Total investment securities increased $4.9 billion (14 percent) to $39.0 billion.. Total assets fell $4.0 billion (4 percent) to $84.1 billion.. The FHLB of Topeka reported net income of $33.5 million in 2010 compared to $236.7 million in 2009. The bank said lower earnings reflect a 9.2 percent decline in asset values at the bank. .Stonier teams with Wharton School. The ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking has formed a partnership with the Wharton School in Philadelphia. The partnership, which takes effect in June, provides Stonier students with access to Wharton faculty and its research. Wharton faculty members will provide leadership training for bank executives.. Faculty members include Mario Moussa, Ph.D., who has been named Stonier's academic director. He complements the Stonier professional faculty that presents a curriculum focused on leadership, strategic planning, economics and financial management. Graduates of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking will receive a Stonier diploma in addition to a Wharton Leadership certificate.. Stonier is located at the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia's University City. .Iowa launches financial literacy effort. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad launched the Iowa Financial Literacy Program on Feb. 9. The new online program is designed to help Iowa students learn the core concepts of personal finance. The program is free to Iowa high schools thanks to a federal grant and a public-private partnership between the College Student Aid Commission and many other organizations including banks.. The program is based on educational software developed by EverFi. The Iowa Bankers Association partnered with EverFi last fall to encourage banks to team with their local schools on financial education efforts.. EverFi's financial literacy platform uses new media technology to teach, assess and certify high school students in more than 600 core concepts of personal finance. Video, messaging tools, unique 3D environments, RSS feeds, avatars and gaming components enable students to explore real-world settings, from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, to a used car dealership. Through exploration of real life situations, students are able to absorb financial lessons contained in the numerous learning modules. .Jack Henry teams with marketing service. Jack Henry & Associates announced its Jack Henry Banking division has established a strategic alliance with BankMarketingCenter.com.. Jack Henry Banking now re-markets the turnkey, subscription-based marketing service provided by BankMarketingCenter.com to banks automated by its core banking platforms. BankMarketingCenter.com is a user-friendly, web-based solution that enables bankers to create print ads, direct mail and e-mail campaigns, statement stuffers, product and service brochures, posters, flyers, newsletters, digital signage solutions and more.. Bankers can customize each promotional piece in minutes with access to more than two million stock photos and they can incorporate bank-specific logos, text and slogans, photos, branch locations, and rates.. BankMarketingCenter.com also provides a digital sign solution that enables bankers to create ads or videos for lobby TVs and monitors and program them to automatically run on designated dates and times. .ABA honors banks for community leadership. The American Bankers Association honored nine community banks with leadership awards at its February Community Bankers Conference in San Diego. Two of the winners were from Michigan, and one came from each of the states of South Dakota, Missouri and Minnesota.. Monroe Bank & Trust, Monroe, Mich., was honored for its MBTeach financial literacy program which uses trained employee volunteers to conduct regular, formal courses for high school students and returning adult GED candidates.. Eaton Federal Savings Bank of Charlotte, Mich., was honored for its role in the "stepping up for kids" program, which helps underprivileged residents obtain basic needs.. Boone County National Bank, Columbia, Mo., was honored for its work with Habitat for Humanity to acquire an 11-acre development site. The bank's employees plan to build some of the 30 homes that will go up on the property.. BankWest, Inc., Pierre, S.D., was honored for its participation in the Honor Flight Program, which sent 109 World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. (See the Dec. 15, 2010 edition of NorthWestern Financial Review.). MidCountry Bank, Minnetonka, Minn., was honored for an array of programs designed to boost home ownership. .BOLI assets continue to grow. Bank-owned life insurance assets reached $140.24 billion in the third quarter of 2010, reflecting a 4.8 percent increase from $133.87 billion in third quarter 2009, according to the Michael White/Meyer-Chatfield BOLI Holdings Report.. On Sept. 30 last year, 3,792 banks and thrifts held BOLI assets of $125.57 billion, an increase of 3.0 percent from $121.86 billion in the third quarter of 2009. The total number of banks and thrifts reporting BOLI assets decreased 67 or 1.7 percent, from 3,859 in third quarter 2009. In third quarter last year, 48.9 percent of all banks and thrifts (7,760 institutions) reported holding BOLI assets.. Among banks and thrifts, those with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion were most likely to report BOLI assets, as 409 of 556 banks and thrifts or 73.6 percent reported having them in third quarter of 2010.. Banks with assets ranging from $100 million to $300 million increased their holding of BOLI assets, but all other asset categories experienced declines. The largest decrease occurred among depository institutions under $100 million in assets. Their number decreased by 4.7 percent from 902 in the third quarter 2009 to 860 banks and thrifts in third quarter 2010.. Bank regulators generally discourage banking companies from holding BOLI assets with an aggregate cash surrender value that exceeds 25 percent of the sum of the institution's total capital. Nationally, mean bank BOLI assets as a percentage of the sum of Tier 1 capital and loss allowances increased to 14.76 percent in the third quarter 2010 from 14.60 percent in third quarter 2009. .Also noted…. Mid-Wisconsin Bank, Medford, Wis., is offering customers music downloads on checking and savings accounts. The account is called Kasasa Tunes and customers get $20 worth of downloads from iTunes or Amazon.com if they open the account. They can get $5 in downloads every month they meet certain minimum activity requirements. The accounts have been available since Feb. 1. . Some 50 bankers participated in the first-ever Bankers Day at the Capitol sponsored by the North Dakota Bankers Association on Jan. 19. Also, NDBA has redesigned its web site, at www.ndba.com . U.S. Bank, Minneapolis, will use software from Hara Environmental and Energy Management to monitor its energy use and carbon emissions. The bank said the Hara's energy and resource management software will take U.S. Bank's "sustainability efforts to the next level" as it identifies energy reduction opportunities in U.S. Bank properties. Hara EEM will create a central repository for U.S. Bank's energy and environmental data on more than 2,200 of its owned and operated sites across 25 states. . Garth Gavenda has been elected shareholder at the Anastasi & Associates, P.A., law firm in Stillwater, Minn. Gavenda, a 2001 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minn., joined the firm in 2006.