Sign In
Free Newsletter
Sterling Financial completes $730M capital infusion
Sterling Financial Corp. appears ready to get out from under the thumb of federal regulators now that it's finished raising $730 million from investors. The Spokane-based holding company, parent of Sterling Savings Bank, has raised more money than regulators wanted under a consent order and has boosted its capital ratio above the minimum threshold to be well-capitalized, bank spokeswoman Cara C[...]
Wells Fargo CEO: Don’t blame banks for not lending
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf says banks shouldn't take the blame for not loaning money even though his bank's total loan values have been tumbling. He told a Boise audience Aug. 17 that the problem is a lack of demand. "We can't find qualified borrowers who want to borrow money," he said during the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce's CEO Speaker Series luncheon. "They don't see the opportunity [...]
Sterling Savings completes merger with Golf Savings
Sister banks Sterling Savings and Golf Savings are merging, parent company Sterling Financial Corp. announced Aug. 4. Sterling Financial, a Spokane-based holding company that has been rocked by failing loans to residential and commercial developers over the past two years, said the merger was effective Aug. 2 and that Golf branches would be switched to the Sterling name starting in September. [...]
Home Federal buys second failing Oregon bank
Home Federal Bank of Nampa expanded its reach into Oregon with the July 30 purchase of the company's second failing bank in less than a year. The bank agreed to buy LibertyBank of Eugene, Ore., in a deal driven by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which will cover 80 percent of the losses on loans and real estate acquired. The move comes less than a year after Home Federal agreed to buy C[...]
Tamarack survives bankruptcy; questions remain a year later
[caption id="attachment_26931" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="An aerial view of the real estate development at Tamarack Resort."][/caption] Cyndi Bonetti is amazed at the number of times she's asked about the status of Tamarack resort. "People walk in and automatically assume because the resort is going through bankruptcy that the place is full of weeds and mothballed," she said. [...]
Boise ice cream company files for bankruptcy
Novelty ice cream producer Matterhorn Group Inc., with Idaho ties, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to court documents, the case was filed on July 26, in Sacramento, Calif. In 2005, the Caldwell-based Matterhorn Ice Cream Company merged with Deluxe Ice Cream of Salem, Ore., and Vitafreeze Frozen Confections of Sacramento to form MGI. Nearly 100 people were employed locally, until [...]
Minnick crafts bill to avert commercial loan collapse
Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick, hoping to fend off a looming wave of commercial loan defaults and a continuing decline in real estate prices, was preparing to introduce a bill July 22 that aims to avoid catastrophe for banks, property owners and small businesses with a new federal program. The first-term Democrat, who has earned credibility in his heavily conservative district by opposing bailouts and m[...]
Lender-turned builder Hopkins puts dent in lot supply
[caption id="attachment_26292" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Hopkins Financial Services and HFS Homes team in west Boise’s Rivendell Estates subdivision."][/caption] Randy Hopkins, a private money lender since 1983, didn't set out to become a homebuilder. But the Hopkins Financial Services principal did it anyway, launching HFS Homes LLC in mid-2009 despite southwest Idaho's s[...]
SBA loans jump through June but lose momentum
[caption id="attachment_26030" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Joe Hazel is the co-owner of Hazel Asphalt in Nampa. Joe and his wife Lacy Hazel recently purchased the business from Joe’s father, Bob, with help from an SBA-backed loan. Photo by Brad Carlson/IBR"][/caption] Hazel Asphalt LLC is the kind of business that banks are looking to finance with a U.S. Small Business Administrati[...]
Economic worries cast a cloud at media conference
Tech and media moguls gathered here for an annual confab this week sounded a mostly cautious note on the economy. Big debts and still-depressed housing prices will continue to weigh on consumers, said Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media Corp., whose entertainment businesses include the Starz pay-TV channel and QVC shopping network. "Most people here have consumer-facing businesses," he said. "[...]
Idahoans eligible for new pre-existing condition insurance plan
As of July 1, 2010, Idaho residents are able to apply for a new pre-existing condition insurance plan administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Idahoans who have been unable to obtain health insurance due to a pre-existing condition will now have a new option," said Idaho Department of Insurance Director Bill Deal in a news release. "They will be able to purchase covera[...]
Workers’ compensation specialist Employers reorganizes, reduces Boise staff
Workers' compensation insurance specialist Employers Holdings Inc., which fields a Boise office, has reorganized operations to "eliminate duplicative services and better align resources with business activity and growth opportunities," the Reno-based company said in a July 2 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which does business as Employers and operates in 30[...]
