Kit Menkin’s Leasing News

                   www.leasingnews.org  Friday, April 19 2002

Accurate, fair and unbiased news for the equipment Leasing Industry

 

           Headlines----

 

ELA Capitol Hill Day 2002: A Great Day on the Hill

   Republic Leasing of South Carolina Seeks National Marketing Manager

          Niagra Takes Leasing Industry by Storm

              CIT Tyco Revealed----

                To Promote Cyber Security/ Commerce Department changes its name

                   Senate Committee approves large increased in federal funds for Amtrak

                     Google Still Number One---Teoma On the Rise—Copernic the Best

                          What we asked Google and competitors

                               ePlus To Showcase its Enterprise Cost Management Solution

National Cooperative Bank Announces New Alliance With CitiCapital/Leasing

 Bankruptcy Court Extends Comdisco's Exclusivity Period to July 31,2002

    Where to Find Knowledge on the Leasing Industry

       New to Leasing News: Leasing Books and Where to Purchase

              Leasing Recruiter’s Forum

                 Concerning BancPartners in Texas

                      Fleet says service is its new crusade

                         Pacific Bancorp Earnings

Gateway computer reports quarterly loss on 50% lower sales

   UPS posts flat first-quarter earnings of $563 million

 

 

# Denotes Press release

 

 

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

 

Equipment Leasing Association Capitol Hill Day 2002: A Great Day on the Hill

******************************

Sixty Equipment Leasing Association members came to Washington, D.C. last week to participate in

representative democracy! ELA's Capitol Hill Day kicked off Tuesday evening,

April 9th, with an issues briefing, practice meetings and a reception

featuring a speech from Senator Bob Graham (D-FLA).

 

 A Wednesday morning breakfast talk from Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) got attendees ready for a day on

The Hill. The real work of Capital Hill Day came with the numerous meetings

with members of Congress or their staffs.

 

 Some ELA members had as many as five meetings scheduled. In each, they introduced the Representatives or

Senators to the importance of leasing on the national and local levels, and

briefed them on pending legislative issues important to their business.

 

For a full report on Capitol Hill Day, see the up-coming June/July Issue of ELT.

( ELA magazine mailed to members and subscribers )

 

To view photos from Capitol Hill Day, please visit

http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/capthillday/pictures/2002/index.cfm

 

( courtesy ELAonline.com)

 

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Republic Leasing of South Carolina Seeks National Marketing Manager.

 

Dwight Galloway and Charles Randall confirm they are looking for a “national marketing manager.”

 

They both state they have begun the process, and after interviewing, will talk

to their parent as they consider this a very important position.

 

“I can tell you we are interviewing a female, a Native American, a Russian Jew...

and we are not interviewing anyone from North Dakota, or the Queen mother, may

she rest in peace, “ Galloway said, tongue in cheek.”  I can tell you we also will

not hire someone who has worked for us before.”

 

Charles Randall said they hoped to find the person “ by the new millennium.”

 

Dwight Galloway said he would seriously consider a “volunteer...someone who

looked at us as a charitable organization, and would work for free. We sure

           would like a volunteer,” he concluded. Charles Randall was heard in the background,

           laughing loudly. Dwight Galloway said he was serious.

 

          “Charles and I would really like a volunteer to be our new marketing manager.”

      

           Contact Mr. Galloway at: dgalloway@rlclsg.com

 

 

By the way, here is one of the questions, Mr. Galloway and Mr. Randall will

ask the prospective marking managers:

 

You are driving along on a wild stormy night.  You pass by a bus stop and

you see three people waiting for the bus:

 

1.  An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

 

2.  An old friend who once saved your life.

 

3. The perfect man(or)woman you have been dreaming about.

 

Which one would you choose, knowing that there could only be one passenger

in your car.  Think before you continue reading.  This is a moral/ethical

dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

 

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you

should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once

saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back.

However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

 

This questions was given to Dwight Galloway when he was first hired

many years ago, just out of school:  He reportedly  had no trouble coming up with his answer.

 

 

 

WHAT DID YOUNG DWIGHT SAY?

 

 

 

He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him

take the lady to the hospital.  I would stay behind and wait for the bus

with the woman of my dreams."

 

Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought

limitations (think "out of the box"). That’s the kind of person Republic Leasing

of South Carolina is looking for.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Niagra Takes Leasing Industry by Storm

 

Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler have recently been signed to do a movie about Niagara that is tentatively scheduled for release in early summer 2002.

 

 

Where can I buy some of this drink, Niagra or Nexcite.  It may be just the

thing we need.

 

Greg Bennett

Leasing Services Network

708-687-6671

708-687-6673 Fax

gbennett77@attbi.com

 

http://www.niagarapa.com/   The name has been changed to nexcite here,

and a pdf. format drink recipe is available. You can order on line

for a two bottle sampler: $19.16 or get a “gift box:” or “gift baskets.”:

  six bottle:   $27.54     12 bottles:  $52.68    Case: $100.56

Testimonials, too.

(http://buyniagara.safeshopper.com/ $4.40 a bottle   5 cases $402  10 cases: $744

(http://www.viacreame.com/niagra.htm  six pack $27.95 plus shipping and handling

http://www.herbsinstead.com/sof.html  six pack  $33 plus shipping and handling

 

---

 

Gosh - I didn't see this in yesterday's Leasing News or I would have

commented sooner...  I wonder if I would get any work done at the office if

both Dion and I were Niagra fans. (tee hee)

.

 

Have a great Day...

 

Bette Kerhoulas, CLP

Managing Director

800-800-8081, 949-727-3711 Ext. 227, 949-727-3722 Fax

bettek@pacifica-capital.com

Please visit our web site at www.pacifica-capital.com

<http://www.pacifica-capital.com>

 

--- 

 

If a leasing guy drinks this product, will it make him a stiff competitor?

 

Jim Fleming

nationalbusinesscredit@yahoo.com

National Business Credit

----

 

 

That was a great piece you did on Niagra, the Swedish drink with the power of love.

 I just heard on CNN that some retirement homes are prescribing it as a nighttime tonic

for their elderly male patients.  Seems it keeps them from rolling out of bed. 

 

Also, I heard that if you take it to wash down your Rogaine you'll look like Don King.

 

Barry Reitman

 baldguy@keystoneleasing.com

 

--- 

 

The Niagra story was amusing.  With the "leasing wallbanger", sounds like a

guy could literally pour himself a stiff one.

 

John Kruse

JFK@CapitalStream.com

 

---

 

Kit, you know I have been married for 42 years, long before Niagra.

However, I must admit it is great stuff. It did cause me one problem.

 I had to remove the ceiling fan because I like to sleep on my back.

 

Bob Teichman, CLP

Teichman Financial Training

3030 Bridgeway, Suite 213

Sausalito, CA 94965

Tel: 415-331-6445

Fax: 415-331-6451

e-mail: BoTei@aol.com

 

"Providing education and training to the equipment leasing and financing

industry."

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CIT Tyco Revealed----

 

CIT Tyco staff has been doing great.  They have a real corporate identity.

To further understand this, and what they have to work with, here is

a comment from a reader that puts this all into prospective:

 

 

We worked with CIT and their Atlanta office for 4 years before it

closed and had an excellent relationship.  At that time the programs and

rates were effective.  We are now working with CIT out of their Tempe

location, supposedly same programs and rates, however, the credit window is

much smaller - which is understandable considering the state of the

industry, however, the rates are impractical for the credit requirements,

i.e.  $500,000 at a buy rate of 9.0%.

 

The information given to us, and also available in the news, is that CIT

/Tyco cannot obtain the long term funds it needs to compete at market rates,

thus they are offering a new product.  This new product sounds intriguing

but is nothing more than a "Band-Aid on a bullet hole."  The product is a

lease which has a fixed payment for the term, offers a lower buy rate, say

8.0% (still not great for a $500,000 lease), however, even though the

payment is fixed the rate floats for the entire term, based on short term

T-Bills and CIT will bill the Lessee at the end of the term for any

increases in the overall rate calculated from time of lease inception to end

of term.  We still don't have a full understanding of this product, nor have

we attempted to calculate what the potential "Balloon" payment liability for

the lessee would be.  Have you ever heard of a product like this?

 

It appears CIT is reacting as best they can to their lack of access to long

term competitive funds, as well as trying to PUMP UP THE VOLUME immediately,

with short term money to try to make themselves more attractive to potential

buyers.

 

-dedicated reader-

 

 

 

To Promote Cyber Security/ Commerce Department changes its name

 

By Associated Press,

 

WASHINGTON (AP) An agency within the Commerce Department has renamed itself to draw attention to its efforts to protect national security and the nation's most important computer networks.

 

The former Bureau of Export Administration, headed by Commerce Undersecretary Kenneth I. Juster, will be known as the Bureau of Industry and Security, although its responsibilities won't change. Commerce Secretary Don Evans approved the new name.

 

Juster said the new name ''reflects the breadth of the bureau's activities in the spheres of national, homeland, economic and cyber security.''

 

Along with helping U.S. companies ensure they don't violate federal trade laws, the bureau also runs the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, which is responsible for shoring up protection of the country's most important computer networks and other systems.

 

 

 

Senate Committee approves large increased in federal funds for Amtrak

 

Protecting Safety a Major Issue

 

 

By Laurence Arnold, Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate committee endorsed a big increase in federal funds for passenger train service Thursday while also complaining about Amtrak, a chronic money-loser for the government.

 

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted 20-3 for a bill that would keep Amtrak operating for five more years and spend $4.6 billion a year on improving and expanding rail service.

 

The bill goes to the full Senate.

 

Sen. Ernest Hollings, the committee chairman and bill sponsor, said the Sept. 11 attacks showed America needs alternatives to flying and driving. Hollings, D-S.C., said Congress has treated Amtrak ''with benign neglect'' for three decades.

 

With Congress due to vote this year on the future of passenger rail, the Hollings bill represents the most comprehensive and Amtrak-friendly of several proposals. Thirty- two senators, mostly Democrats, have signed on to the bill.

 

Should it pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, it has a tough road in the Republican-controlled House.

 

House transportation leaders from both parties are working on a short-term solution that would give Amtrak the $1.2 billion it says it needs to keep all the trains running for another year.

 

Some lawmakers support a plan by the congressionally created Amtrak Reform Council to break up Amtrak and franchise out its routes to introduce competition.

 

One supporter of that plan is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee. He pleaded with his colleagues not to give Amtrak additional money without requiring major reforms.

 

''We have a responsibility to fix a program that has consistently fallen woefully short of the goals Congress has set for Amtrak, and that Amtrak has set for itself,'' McCain said.

 

McCain's colleagues agreed in principle to his amendment requiring that any new high-speed rail projects be open to competitive bidding a potential challenge to Amtrak's monopoly on passenger service. The committee asked its staff to study the legal implications of such an idea.

 

McCain saved some of his displeasure for the Bush administration, saying it ''has failed, utterly, to say one word'' about Amtrak's future.

 

The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on railroads, Rep. Jack Quinn, met Thursday with administration representatives. Quinn, R-N.Y., said only that the White House ''has a solid grasp'' on the issues surrounding Amtrak's future.

 

Under the Hollings bill, $4.6 billion per year would be spent on Amtrak operations, renovations to Amtrak-owned tracks in the Northeast and development of new high- speed corridors.

 

The bill would add Los Angeles-Las Vegas as the 11th federally designated high- speed corridor.

 

The bill would provide a one-time infusion of more than $1.4 billion for safety and security improvements, including money for X-ray machines, bomb-detecting dogs and a satellite-based system to shut down any locomotive not under control of its crew.

 

To make the bill more palatable to some colleagues, Hollings revised it to require Amtrak to submit a detailed five-year financial plan along with its annual budget request to Congress. He also added money for security upgrades outside the Northeast.

 

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a critic of Amtrak since it canceled the Chicago-Portland- Seattle ''Pioneer'' route in 1997, added an amendment to force Amtrak to use objective criteria when making route and service decisions.

 

On the Net:

 

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee: http:// commerce.senate.gov

 

Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com

 

 

Google Still Number One---Teoma On the Rise—Copernic the Best

 

By Michael Liedtke, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) In the rarefied world of online search, it looks like Google remains the engine of choice.

 

At least that's what we found in an unscientific test that pit Google's powers against the tools of Teoma, an industry upstart claiming that it has developed a better way to explore unfamiliar turf on the Web.

 

The duel consisted of seven widely divergent questions provided by Michael Bass, the director of The Associated Press' News and Information Research Center.

 

The questions have either recently come up in AP stories or in an investigative reporting class that Bass teaches at New York University.

 

I posed them as well to two other highly touted search engines, alltheweb.com and wisenut.com, as well as AltaVista, a pioneer that lost its way a few years ago during the dot-com boom.

 

In all cases, I used the most elementary of search techniques, entering the same keywords from each question into each engine.

 

While all the engines fared reasonably well on most questions, none approached Google's processing speed or ability to provide relevant links to the answers. What's more, Google was the only engine to guide us in each case to the requested information on its first page of results.

 

These two questions stymied all the other engines:

 

''What Pulitzer Prizes did the New Orleans Times-Picayune win and in what year?'' and ''What is the name of the song featured in the Mitsubishi commercials with the lyrics, 'I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger?'

 

It took just 0.24 seconds for Google to provide me with a link to a page on the Times- Picayune's Web site, where I learned the New Orleans papers had won two Pulitzers, both in 1997 one for public service and another for editorial cartooning.

 

Google took even less time 0.19 seconds on Google's clock to answer the question about the Mitsubishi song, even though I initially misspelled Mitsubishi in the search term.

 

In a nice demonstration of Google's intuitive powers, the search engine still figured out what I really meant and provided a link to an online discussion board, where I learned that the Mitsubishi ad used a 1973 song called ''Ooh La La,'' written by Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane and sung by Rod Stewart. On this question at least, more authoritative Web sources seemed harder to come by.

 

Google's performance seemed even more impressive after seeing how the question about the Times-Picayune fooled the other engines.

 

Both Teoma and AltaVista provided a high ranking to an MSN Money page that informed me its managing editor used to work at the New Orleans paper and several of its staffers had won Pulitzer Prizes during the 1980s and 1990s.

 

Alltheweb pointed me to a Web page featuring a schedule for last month's Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Library Festival. The page listed scheduled speeches by two former Pulitzer Prize winners and a former Times-Picayune cartoonist.

 

Google's database, the largest of those tested, appears to give it a major advantage over its rivals. The Mountain View-based company says it draws upon an index of 3 billion documents.

 

Teoma's owners, Ask Jeeves, insist Google's index is littered with junk links. Teoma believes it does a better job of filtering useless links, one of the reasons its index consists of just 200 million pages. Teoma says it will be expanding its database.

 

This is not to suggest the other engines are clueless. They all provide useful road maps for getting around online.

 

Teoma looks especially promising as it continues to develop a new format it unveiled along with souped-up search tools this month. An easy-to-use ''refine'' button helps focus search requests, which helped with some of our queries but not with others.

 

The refine tool appears especially useful if you are entering a broad search term such as ''lincoln'' that could be interpreted in various ways. Enter that word into Teoma's engine and the ''refine'' feature will provide several subcategories, including Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Benefit Life and Lincoln, Neb.

 

Teoma's ''resources'' category also is a handy way to find more experts on topics. Despite the intrigue of Teoma's extra bells and whistles, Google remains my first stop for online directions.

 

On The Net:

 

http://www.google.com

 

http://www.teoma.com

 

http://www.alltheweb.com

 

http://www.wisenut.com

 

http://www.altavista.com

 

( www.copernic.com the best. Editor )

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

What we asked Google and competitors

 

By Associated Press

Just how does online search engine Google stack up against its competitors? The Associated Press asked Google and several other search engines the following:

 

THE QUESTIONS:

 

1) Canada has had only one female prime minister. Who is she?

 

2) Which were the most frequently banned books of 2001?

 

3) What is a ''roofie'' and why is it known as the ''date rape drug?''

 

4) What was the name of the Danish guitarist killed in the Empire State Building shooting in 1997 and what band did he play for?

 

5) What is Hypospadias?

 

6) Which Pulitzer Prizes did the New Orleans Times-Picayune win, and in what year?

 

7) What is the name of the song featured in the Mitsubishi commercials with the lyrics, ''I wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger?''

 

THE ANSWERS:

 

1) Kim Campbell, sworn in as Canada's prime minister in June 1993. She was out of office before the year was over.

 

2) According to the American Library Association, the three most challenged books of 2001 were: The ''Harry Potter'' series by J.K. Rowling; ''Of Mice and Men'' by John Steinbeck; and ''The Chocolate War'' by Robert Cormier.

 

3) ''Roofie'' stands for Rohypnol, a dime-sized pill that leaves people open to suggestion and physically weak. It also causes memory loss. These factors, and the pill lack of taste and odor, has led to some men dropping it in the drinks of unwitting women, who later have reported being raped.

 

4) Christoffer Burmeister, a 27-year-old guitarist for a Danish band called the Bush Pilots, was killed in a shooting that occurred at the Empire State Building on Feb. 23, 1997.

 

5) A condition where the opening of the penis isn't found in its normal spot. The opening often is found on the back of the shaft. Somewhere between one in every 300 to 350 men are afflicted with the condition.

 

6) The New Orleans Times-Picayune won both of its Pulitzers in 1997. The paper won the Public Service award for a series called ''Oceans of Trouble'' and another for editorial cartooning.

 

7) The Mitsubishi ad uses a 1973 song called ''Ooh La La.'' The song was written by Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane and sung by Rod Stewart.

 

-- 

 ################# #################################### ##########

 

ePlus To Showcase its Enterprise Cost Management Solution at CA World; ePlus Solution Captures and Sustains Cost Savings for Customers

 

 

HERNDON, Va--ePlus, Inc., (Nasdaq:PLUS), a leading provider of business solutions and services, announced that it will be showcasing Enterprise Cost Management (ECM), its leading business process solution, at the CA World eCommerce conference. ePlus' ECM solution provides an innovative, comprehensive methodology for reducing the costs of purchasing, asset management, processing payables, settlement, catalog content management, and financing throughout the entire enterprise.

 

CA World 2002 is Computer Associates' eighth annual eCommerce conference and will be at the Orlando Convention Center in Orlando, FL from April 21-25. Attendance is expected to exceed 20,000 IT professionals. Interested parties are encouraged to visit ePlus at Booth 211 to see continuous live software demonstrations, including a preview of ePlus' integration with CA's ServiceDesk, meet with ePlus product experts, and schedule one-on-one meetings to discover how a disciplined ECM approach can deliver real cost savings. Additional information is available at www.eplus.com

 

ePlus' Enterprise Cost Management solution incorporates the following ePlus solutions, which will be showcased at CA World:

 

--  Procure+ - feature rich, web-based or licensed eProcurement

software which automates the entire purchasing process from

the first input of an order through settlement, via a secure

and paperless process.

 

--  Manage+ - asset management software for asset tracking and

reporting, which integrates with Procure+ and ePlus financial

services for a robust ECM solution.

 

--  Content+ - a comprehensive suite of software and outsourced

services for advanced electronic catalog content production

and management, incorporating a knowledge base of over 200,000

business rules and 44,000 commodity and class codes.

 

--  ePlus Financial Services - ePlus offers a range of flexible

financing options including leases, loans, and

sale-leasebacks, and transaction processing automation

solutions including electronic billing and presentment.

 

With over 10 years of experience and sustained profitability, ePlus offers business process automation through the integration of products and services. ePlus consistently helps clients achieve their goals by leveraging a combination of collaborative disciplines such as business and financial services, asset management, eProcurement, and IT Sales and Services.

 

About ePlus inc.

 

A leading provider of Web-based e-procurement, asset management, financing, leasing, sourcing, and eContent technology and services, ePlus delivers comprehensive and high-value business solutions. The ePlusSuite of products and services, including Procure+, Manage+, Content+, and ePlusMarket, helps businesses dynamically streamline, improve and gain management control of spending and fixed assets. ePlus solutions integrate and automate each aspect of the supply chain process: from requisition to approval, fulfillment, financing and asset management, delivering the highest return on investment.

 

ePlus(TM), ePlusSuite(TM), Procure+(TM) , Manage+(TM) , Service+(TM), and MarketBuilder(TM) are trademarks of ePlus inc. Finance+(SM) is a registered service mark of ePlus inc. ePlus Content Framework(SM) is a service mark applied for by ePlus.

 

Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Herndon, VA and has more than 30 locations in the US. For more information, visit our website at www.eplus.com, call 800-827-5711 or email info@eplus.com.

 

 

CONTACT:

 

ePlus inc., Herndon

 

Lisa Savino, 631/218-9510           

 

lsavino@eplus.com              

 

or 

 

ePlus inc.

 

Kley Parkhurst, 703/709-1924   

 

### ############################################## #####################

 

National Cooperative Bank Announces New Alliance With CitiCapital; Partnership to Offer Leasing Products to NCB Customers

 

 

WASHINGTON--National Cooperative Bank (NCB) announced a new partnership with CitiCapital to provide leasing services to its small business customers.

 

Leasing allows businesses to conserve their cash by leasing the equipment they need instead of purchasing it outright.

 

The needs may include machinery, computers, software, furniture, fixtures, security systems, rental equipment and more. Leasing provides businesses with a number of benefits: avoid large initial capital outlays, develop a workable repayment schedule adjustable to seasonal needs, take advantage of available tax benefits, and ensure equipment is state-of-the-art.

 

NCB works directly with purchasing cooperatives, retailer-owned wholesalers, franchise systems, trade associations and credit unions to deliver a broad variety of financial products to help grow their member retail businesses. The new partnership with CitiCapital is part of NCB's continuing commitment to leverage third party partnerships to offer the best available services to its customers.

 

NCB's small business customers have already begun to take advantage of the partnership--since late 2001, CitiCapital has committed approximately $1,000,000 in leasing for 16 NCB customers. The average lease size was $62,500.

 

"We are very pleased to partner with CitiCapital to continue to offer our customers the products that they need to sustain and expand their businesses," said Charles E. Snyder, president and CEO of NCB. "We recognize that our role is more than just as a capital provider. We are an innovative partner for our customers ensuring they have access to high quality financial solutions."

 

CitiCapital provides leases ranging from $5,000 through $250,000. It specializes in programmatic leasing for cooperative businesses and brand concepts, providing competitive pricing and best-in-class service standards. CitiCapital offers the full range of leasing products including Master Leases, True Leases, and Tax Advantage Leases.

 

Currently, NCB has affinity programs with several leading cooperatives and member-driven organizations including Ace Hardware, one of the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperatives; Allied Domecq QSR, parent company to Togo's, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins; Yorkshire Global Restaurants, parent company for A&W and Long John Silver's; and, the National Grocers Association, the trade association representing independent retail grocers.

 

National Cooperative Bank provides financial services to the nation's cooperatives and their members as well as other member-owned organizations and nonprofit endeavors. Chartered by Congress in 1978, National Cooperative Bank was privatized in 1981 as a cooperative financial services company that is owned by more than 1,800 of its customers.

 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NCB has offices in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Ohio and New York. To learn more about NCB, visit www.ncb.com.

 

CitiCapital is a wholly owned subsidiary of CitiGroup, formed when CitiGroup purchased Associates First Capital in November 2000. CitiGroup is one of the largest financial services companies in the world with affiliated companies including CitiBank, Travelers Insurance, and Salomon, Smith Barney.

 

CONTACT:

 

National Cooperative Bank, Washington

 

Jason Dring, 202/518-8047

 

#### ####################################### ###########################################

 

 

Bankruptcy Court Extends Comdisco's Exclusivity Period to File Plan of Reorganization to July 31, 2002; Approves Asset Sales

 

 

ROSEMONT, Ill

Extends Deadline to Allow More Time to Reach Consensual Agreement on Plan; Approves Sales of Heathcare and Australia/New Zealand IT Leasing

 

Assets; Company Still on Track to Emerge From Chapter 11 in Late

 

Summer, 2002

 

Comdisco, Inc., (OTC:CDSO), announced that today the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the company's request for an extension of the exclusive periods during which only Comdisco may file a plan of reorganization and solicit acceptances for that plan. These periods, which had been scheduled to expire on April 18, 2002, and June 15, 2002, have now both been extended to July 31, 2002.

 

Comdisco requested the extension to continue recent productive discussions with its Creditors' and Equity Committees to reach a consensual agreement on the proposed Plan of Reorganization. The company is still on target to emerge from Chapter 11 in late summer of 2002, and stated in Court that it intends to file its Plan of Reorganization no later than the end of April. The company also said the extension does not change previously scheduled hearings on its Disclosure Statement on May 31, 2002, and its Confirmation Hearing on July 30, 2002, but simply provides more time for discussion among the debtors and its statutory committees.

 

Comdisco also announced that the Bankruptcy Court has approved the sale of the company's healthcare leasing assets to GE Capital's Healthcare Financial Services unit. As previously announced on April 4, 2002, GE Capital's Healthcare Financial Services will pay Comdisco approximately $165 million, including assumption of approximately $45 million in related secured debt, for the majority of its healthcare portfolio. The sale is expected to close by May 31, 2002.

 

The Court also approved the sale of Comdisco's information technology (IT) leasing assets in Australia and New Zealand to Allco, an Australian company specializing in equipment and infrastructure finance and leasing. As previously announced on April 9, 2002, Allco will pay Comdisco approximately $44 million for the assets. The sale is expected to close by June 18, 2002.

 

Comdisco, Inc. and 50 domestic U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 16, 2001. The filing allows the company to provide for an orderly sale of some of its businesses, while resolving short-term liquidity issues and enabling the company to reorganize on a sound financial basis to support its continuing businesses.

 

Comdisco's operations located outside of the United States were not included in the Chapter 11 reorganization cases. All of Comdisco's businesses, including those that filed for Chapter 11, are conducting normal operations.

 

About Comdisco

 

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides technology services worldwide to help its customers maximize technology functionality and predictability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. The Rosemont (IL) company offers leasing to key vertical industries, including semiconductor manufacturing and electronic assembly, healthcare, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology. Through its Ventures division, Comdisco provides equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital backed companies.

 

CONTACT:

 

Comdisco

 

Mary Moster, 847/518-5147

 

mcmoster@comdisco.com

 

or

 

Kekst and Company

 

Fred Spar or Jeremy Fielding, 212/521-4800

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Do You Know Where To Find The Most Comprehensive Library of Industry

Knowledge?

******************************

http://www.leasefoundation.org

 

 The new and improved Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation website

debuts this week. The site contains a comprehensive library of industry

research, reports and articles written for lease financing professionals,

analysts and academics. The new website features the latest lease financing

body of knowledge, an interactive Intern Database for employers and

students, Foundation contributors and much more. Products and studies on the

site are easy to download and free.

 

Bookmark the site and visit it often --- www.leasefoundation.org.

 

Leasing News gets many inquiries from college and university students. We direct

them to www.leasefoundation.org   We also use it for research and data.

 

( courtesy ELAonline.com)

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

New to our website:  Books

 

http://www.leasingnews.org/Books.htm

 

Books on Equipment Leasing by Source:
 
Master Index

             
              Amazon
              Direct Purchase
              Certified Leasing Professional (CLP) Foundation
              Equipment Leasing Association
              Equipment  Leasing and Finance Foundation Reports
              United Association of Equipment Leasing

 

This new section was added from readers who were asking about books on leasing,

leasing companies, marketing leasing, and legal aspects.  When Kit Menkin first

started in the leasing business in 1971, there were no leasing associations, training

schools, conferences, and the library was the only source.  The library is a great

resource for knowledge and information. 

 

List in our section are books that are available for sale.

 

 

 

Leasing Recruiter’s Forum

 

 

                  Name = Teri Gerson

               Address = 1141 Minisink Way

                  City = Westfield

                 State = NJ

               Zipcode = 07090

                 Phone = 908.654.1550

                   Fax = 908.654.1553

                 Email = terigerson@exsolutions.com

Comments = Kit, I agree with Jonathan Zigman.  I don't believe candidates or Hiring Manager or HR people have an accurate understanding or how recruiters work and what the extent of the services we provide.  Perhaps one-three recruiters should write an article or something for your newsletter which is NOT a commercial for their firm but which sheds light on our role.

 

One of the things industry specialists in recruiting offer is historical

knowledge.  We see where people have been and what they have accomplished

over a long period of time.  I save ever resume, and it is amazing how often

dates change or companies disappear.  Non-specialists don't know that.

There are also a whole series of services we perform, such as strategizing

with clients about territory alignments, market strategies, characteristics

needed in any given position, etc.  I could go on and on.  It's a real

partnership (at least the way I do it).  Because we work with the same

clients over and over, we truly know their companies, preferences, and

processes.  Therefore, we don't send them inappropriate people, and also

know when to call with "I found someone you should look at" even if they

didn't give us a search assignment.  We help in determining the compensation

formula.  We cover counter offers.  Help to prioritize and stack numerous

candidates objectively.  Buffer the awkward moments.  Call people at night

and at work.  Protect the privacy of the client.  Screen.  It really does go

on and on.  Perhaps someone (I would be happy to) could write an article

about these things.  Things that are not figured in to our fees.  Things

clients can't/don't or won't do.  Or never even think of doing.  What do you

think?

               

 

(One of the reasons I started the recruiting section was you had

no where to go.  The Monitor is a recruiter. When I started

the classified, I asked for feedback, as I still do, not as

often as I should, and I was told the Monitor was calling

every one.

 

(And as I thought about it, I said to myself, we should have

a place for recruiters.  And when I started this, I was getting

calls from many recruiters, but I could tell they were not

"specialist" in leasing, and the only way I could figure to

remedy this was make it a requirement for posting ads in leasing

news was to make a requirement to be a member of a leasing association

( except for a job wanted or outsourcing position ).  This was

discussed with the leasing news advisory board. They recommended

this section, and to apply the rule of membership as evidence

the company was in good standing, and to reward those

who belonged to leasing associations.

 

(I would like to have more information about leasing recruiters.

Our goal in starting the classified was not to raise money, to

charge for advertising, but to help people find jobs---editor)

 

----  

 

If you follow up on Jonathan's suggestion in this morning's

Leasing News and convene a panel of recruiters in its

pages to demystify the recruiting industry, I'd welcome

the chance to participate.

 

I am a veteran of Spencer Stuart, where I executed CEO-

level searches in the financial services industry.  More

recently, with Hughes Consultants in Atlanta, I successfully

completed a senior management search assignment for Fleet

Business Credit's Vendor Finance Group in Chicago.

 

I'm attaching my firm's profile for your information.

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Chuck O'Boyle

Hughes Consultants, LLC

817 West Peachtree Street, Suite 208

Atlanta, Georgia 30308

Telephone: (404) 879-5070  Facsimile: (404) 879-5075

coboyle@hughes-consultants.com

 

 

----- 

 

Concerning BancPartners in Texas

 

 Jim Lahti said the breakup, "It is amicable".

 

 Yeah right ........and I've got some really beautiful beachfront property

 near Denver that I'll make someone a really good price on.  It has a great

 view of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

 Great work Kit.......keep up the good job.

 

( name with held )

 

________________________________________________________________ 

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fleet says service is its new crusade

 

Bank to spend $150m for improvements

 

By Scott Bernard Nelson,  Boston Globe Staff

Fleet Boston Financial Corp.'s executives yesterday provided the first details about how New England's largest bank plans to spend $150 million over the next eight months to hire and train new employees, increase the size of its ATM network, and upgrade technology in a bid to improve its customer service record.

 

 

After Fleet acquired BankBoston Corp. in 1999, the new entity was plagued with customer- service problems. Fleet also has a history of focusing more on buying and integrating competitors than on keeping customers happy.

 

The initiative to improve customer service is part of a broad restructuring announced at Fleet's annual meeting Tuesday. In addition, chief executive Chad Gifford announced plans to cut back on investment banking, venture capital, and international business to focus instead on traditional banking.

 

Gifford pledged to spend $75 million this year ''to improve the overall customer experience'' at the bank's 1,500 retail branches. He said the bank will spend another $75 million to better serve businesses dealing with Fleet's commercial banking division.

 

Fleet's competitors say the bank's efforts won't bear results overnight.

 

''For an organization the size of Fleet, improving customer service across the organization is like turning around a super liner in a Navy yard,'' said Rich Holbrook, president of Eastern Bank. ''It's going to take a lot of tugs pushing and pulling in various directions - and a long time - to make it happen.''

 

Fleet's managers acknowledged as much yesterday.

 

''We're trying to become more like a consumer retailing firm than a banking firm,'' said Brad Warner, Fleet's director of consumer banking. ''But by our own admission, it's going to take us a while to get there.''

 

Gifford said Fleet has seen dramatic improvement in its own measures of customer satisfaction over the past year, including a 20 percent increase in the number of customers who report receiving ''very good'' or ''good'' service, based on three dozen measures.

 

He also said the bank increased the average number of accounts per customer household to 3.5 from 2.7, and that annual employee attrition, which can affect service, has fallen at Fleet branches, from 19 percent to 15 percent in a year's time.

 

''We are adopting a crusade-like intensity toward creating a positive customer experience,'' Gifford said at the annual meeting.

 

''We have much more to do, but I can assure you that there are very few within the bank who do not understand that customer satisfaction is a very high priority.''

 

The reasons for the crusade are obvious to those who observe the banking industry.

 

Fleet ranked the second-worst of 20 large US banks in a Consumer Reports survey on customer satisfaction published in June 2000. Customers cited long waits at Fleet branches, confusing ATM receipts, and slow service at bank call centers.

 

And last year, the bank came in dead last out of 40 financial-services companies in a poll of corporate reputation done by the American Banker, a trade publication.

 

Of the $75 million earmarked for improving retail services, Fleet said it spent $21 million this year to upgrade the technology in its branch offices, $20 million to add 40 freestanding ATMs in New York and Massachusetts, $10 million for customer- service training for branch employees, and $10 million for additional nonteller staff. The bank will also spend $14 million to add 500 tellers.

 

''As a strategic exercise, we're reviewing our customer needs, the product sets they want, how to best sell to them, and how to improve how we interact with them,'' said Anne Finucane, Fleet's director of marketing and communications. ''We're interviewing more than 10,000 consumers a year to get a sense of what things we should do.''

 

On the commercial banking side, Fleet said yesterday that it will spend $10 million this year to hire 53 new customer service representatives for business clients, $25 million to update its wire transfer systems, $4 million to automate forms, and $4 million for market research.

 

The bank will also spend $32 million to make all its commercial banking products and services available on the Internet.

 

Gordon Goetzmann of First Manhattan Consulting Group, who has studied the link between customer service and bottom-line financial results at the nation's 30 biggest banks, said whether Fleet's changes take hold won't be known for years.

 

''When you really crawl into the organizations that hang their hat on service, it isn't a strategy they announce for a year,'' Goetzmann said. ''It has to become a way of life inside the organization.''

 

Heather Campion, executive vice president of Citizens Financial Group, the second-largest bank in the region, said that only time will tell whether Fleet's investment in customer service will pay dividends in the marketplace.

 

For now, she said, Citizens and other banks are touting their own service records to try to take customers away from Fleet.

 

''It takes a lot of hard work to build a customer-service culture,'' she said.

 

''It's not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight.''

 

Scott Bernard Nelson can be reached at nelson@globe.com.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

 

Parent of Santa Barbara Savings and Loan Leasing Division

Parent of Santa Barbara Savings and Loan Leasing Division

PACIFIC CAPITAL BANCORP

REPORTS RECORD QUARTERLY EARNINGS

Full Year 2002 Guidance Raised to $2.37 to $2.43

 

Santa Barbara, Calif., -- Pacific Capital Bancorp (Nasdaq:SABB), a multi-community bank holding company with $4.12 billion in assets, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2002.

For the first quarter of 2002, net income increased 16.4% to $26.7 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, record quarterly net income in the Company’s history.  This compares with $22.9 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, reported for the first quarter of 2001. 

 

Based on its record performance in the first quarter, the Company increased its full year 2002 guidance to $2.37 to $2.43 earnings per share.

 

Pacific Capital Bancorp’s return on average equity (ROE) and return on average assets (ROA) for the first quarter of 2002 were 33.0% and 2.46%, respectively, compared to 29.8% and 2.31%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2001.  Exclusive of the impact of the RAL/RT programs in both periods, ROE and ROA were 13.7% and 1.05%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2002, compared to 12.0% and 0.97%, respectively, for the same period in 2001.

 

“We were extremely pleased to exceed our earnings per share expectations for the first quarter and achieve the highest level of quarterly net income in our history,” said William S. Thomas, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Capital Bancorp.  “Historically, the first quarter is exceptionally strong for the Company due to the impact of our Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) and Refund Transfer (RT) programs, which continue to be important contributors to our income growth.”

 

RAL/RT Programs

 

The Company’s RAL and RT programs generated $27.5 million in pre-tax income during the first quarter of 2002, an increase of 15% over the $23.9 million generated during the first quarter of 2001.  Total volume from these programs increased to 3.4 million transactions, up approximately 37% over the prior year, with a product mix of approximately 35% RALs and 65% RTs.

 

“During the 2002 tax season, we were particularly successful in reaching taxpayers that file their own returns, which contributed to total volume growth exceeding our expectations,” said Thomas.  “The number of transactions generated in the personal/online component of our RAL/RT programs more than doubled this year, and we believe this segment will be a key growth driver for our programs in future years.”

 

In prior quarters, the Company accounted for all of its Refund Anticipation Loan program as loan income and its Refund Transfer program as fee income.  In the first quarter of 2002, the Company sold a portion of its refund loans through a securitization. This sale requires a different accounting treatment which is briefly described in the following paragraph. 

 

All income and expenses related to the sold loans are reported net as a gain on sale of loans. This change in accounting for the securitization has a substantial impact on the comparability of the reported amount of income and expense with the same items by category for the prior year.  However, only the positioning of the income and expense amounts are impacted—there is no impact on the Company’s pre-tax or net income for the quarter.  In the accompanying financial tables, the Company has indicated how the accounting for the 2002 RAL program would have appeared had the Company not securitized a portion of its RALs in first quarter 2002.

 

Financial Highlights

 

During the first quarter of 2002, total interest income was $78.5 million, compared with $94.1 million in the same period last year.  Exclusive of RALs in both periods, total interest income was $61.9 million in the first quarter of 2002, compared with $69.5 million in 2001.  This decrease occurred as the lower rates earned on loans offset the positive impact of higher loan balances.

 

Total interest expense for first quarter 2002 was $17.5 million, compared with $29.9 million for the first quarter of 2001.  Exclusive of RALs in both periods, total interest expense was $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2002, compared with $29.0 million in 2001, as rates on deposits also decreased.

 

Net interest margin for the first quarter 2002 was 6.19%, compared with 7.19% in the same quarter of 2001.  Exclusive of RALs, net interest margin was 5.03% and 5.15% in the first quarters of 2002 and 2001, respectively.  This also compares with a net interest margin of 5.01% in the fourth quarter of 2001.

 

Total loans, exclusive of RALs, were $2.83 billion at March 31, 2002.  This compares to $2.80 billion at December 31, 2001.  $21.8 million of the increase is attributable to the acquisition of certain loans from the Monterey and Watsonville branches of California Bank & Trust, which closed March 29, 2002.  Total loans, exclusive of RALs, increased $282 million, or 11.1%, from $2.53 billion at March 31, 2001.

 

Total deposits, exclusive of deposits related to RALs, were $3.2 billion at March 31, 2002, compared to $3.2 billion at December 31, 2001. This also compares with total deposits, exclusive of deposits related to RALs, of $3.2 billion at March 31, 2002. Of the March 31, 2002 deposit balance, $60.4 million of this amount is attributable to deposits acquired in the California Bank & Trust transaction. 

 

Noninterest revenues for the first quarter 2002 increased $10.6 million, or 43.7%, to $34.8 million, compared with $24.2 million in the first quarter of 2001.  Included in this increase is a $10.2 million gain on sale from the securitization of RALs.  $1.9 million of the increase was attributable to increased fees on the Company’s Refund Transfer product.  Fees generated in the first quarter of 2002 by the Trust & Investment Services division were $3.7 million, an increase of 7.7% over the prior year period.  Service charges on deposit accounts increased for the first quarter to $3.5 million, up 15.3% over the first quarter of last year.  Income from other service charges, commissions and fees for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, increased $388,000, or 2.5%, over the same quarter of 2001. 

 

            The Company’s operating efficiency ratio for the first quarter 2002 was 40.2% compared with 42.4% for the same period of last year.  Exclusive of the impact of the RAL/RT programs in both periods, the operating efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2002 was 55.0% and 63.4% in the first quarter of 2001. This compares with an efficiency ratio of 57.3% in the fourth quarter of 2001 (exclusive of RALs).

 

“We indicated at the beginning of the year that controlling expense levels was a high priority for our organization,” said Thomas.  “We are pleased with our progress in this regard, and we expect that our continued efforts in maintaining expenses below 2001 levels will play an important role in meeting our full year financial goals.”

 

Asset Quality and Capital Ratios

 

“On a sequential quarter basis, our key measures of asset quality remained stable,” said Thomas.  “As expected, with the continuing weakness in the economy, we are seeing further migration of certain credits into less favorable risk categories, primarily in the agriculture, hospitality and technology segments of our portfolio.  As a result, we have increased our provisions for credit losses in order to remain well reserved.”

 

During the first quarter, the Company recorded provision for credit losses of $13.9 million, in line with expectations.  $4.4 million of the provision was related to the 2002 RAL program.

 

For the quarter ended March 31, 2002, the allowance for credit losses increased to $55.7 million, or 1.94% of total loans, compared to $48.9 million, or 1.75% of total loans, at December 31, 2001.  This compares with the industry average of 1.79% of total loans for the Company’s peer group, based on data provided as of December 31, 2001. 

 

Total nonperforming loans increased $581,000 in the first quarter to $20.7 million at March 31, 2002, representing 0.72% of total loans. This is better than the industry average of 1.07% of total loans for the Company’s peer group, based on data provided as of December 31, 2001. This results in a coverage ratio (allowance for non-RAL credit losses) of nonperforming loans of 266%. 

 

Total non-performing assets at the end of the first quarter of 2002 represented 0.50% of total assets, down from 0.51% of total assets in the prior quarter.  This is better than the Company’s peer group average of 0.73% of total assets, based on data provided as of December 31, 2001.

 

Net charge-offs (exclusive of RALs) for the three months ended March 31, 2002, were $3.5 million, compared with $3.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2001.

 

Net charge-offs to total average loans (both exclusive of RALs) were 0.51% for the three months ended March 31, 2002, compared with 0.47% for the three months ended December 31, 2001.  This is better than the Company’s peer group average of 1.03%, based on data provided as of December 31, 2001.

 

The Company’s capital ratios continue to be above the well-capitalized guidelines established by bank regulatory agencies.

 

Share Repurchase Program Update

 

On June 25, 2001, Pacific Capital Bancorp announced that its board of directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $20 million of its common stock. The Company completed this share repurchase program on March 14, 2002.  In total, the Company purchased 688,000 shares at an average per share price of $29.14.

 

The Company is currently exploring a number of opportunities to better utilize its capital position to increase earnings, including initiating another share repurchase program.

 

2002 Outlook

 

Pacific Capital Bancorp now expects 2002 fully diluted earnings per share to range between $2.37 and $2.43, a 12%-15% increase in earnings per share.

 

“We remain asset-sensitive and are well positioned for growth in a stable to upward trending interest rate environment,” said Thomas. “As the economies of our Central Coast markets improve later in the year, as is widely expected, we believe that we will begin to see increasing contributions from our core lending activities, which will complement the strength we have seen in our niche businesses during the early part of 2002,” said Thomas.

 

Management stressed that its target earnings per share estimate for 2002 is based upon current economic conditions and contingent upon a number of

factors not within its control, including but not limited to those risks noted in the final paragraph below.

 

.

 

Pacific Capital Bancorp, a multi-community bank holding Company with $4.12 billion in assets, is the parent Company of Pacific Capital Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank with four divisions: Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, First National Bank of Central California, South Valley National Bank and San Benito Bank. Pacific Capital Bank, N.A. is a 41-branch community bank network serving customers in six Central Coast counties, from Morgan Hill in the north to Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks in the south.

 

 

For Information Contact:

Deborah K. Lewis

Investor Relations / Corporate Communications     

(805) 884-6680

lewisd@pcbancorp.com

 

 

 

 

PACIFIC CAPITAL BANCORP

Summary Financial Data (Unaudited)

(In thousands except per share earnings):

 

 

                               For the Three-Month

                              Periods Ended March 31,

                                 2002         2001

Interest income from:

  Loans                       $ 67,196     $ 79,192

  Securities                    10,534       11,298

  Federal funds sold and

    resell agreements              721        3,409

  Commercial paper                  50          272

      Total interest income     78,501       94,171

Interest expense on:

  Deposits                      13,928       25,428

  Federal funds purchased and

    repurchase agreements          493        1,674

  Other borrowed funds           3,124        2,839

      Total interest expense    17,545       29,941

Net interest income             60,956       64,230

Provision for credit

  losses--RALs                   4,402        7,786

Provision for credit

  losses—other                   9,462        4,082

  Net interest income after

   provision for credit losses  47,092       52,362

Noninterest revenue:

  Service charges on deposits    3,454        2,995

  Trust fees                     3,659        3,398

  Other service charges,

    commissions and fees, net   16,150       15,762

  Net gain on

    securities transactions         69            2

  Other income                  11,496        2,074

      Total noninterest revenue 34,828       24,231

Operating expense:

  Salaries and benefits         19,967       18,847

  Net occupancy expense          3,457        2,656

  Equipment expense              1,894        2,053

  Other expense                 13,795       14,494

       Total operating

         expense                39,113       38,050

Income before income taxes      42,807       38,543

Income taxes                    16,133       15,629

    Net income                $ 26,674     $ 22,914

 

Earnings per share - basic       $1.02        $0.86

Earnings per share - diluted     $1.01        $0.86

 

Average shares for

  basic earnings per share      26,180       26,538

Average shares for

  diluted earning per share     26,298       26,709

 

Taxable equivalent adjustment   $1,503       $1,384

 

Net interest margin

  (tax-equivalent)                6.19%        7.19%

 

Operating efficiency ratio       40.23%       42.35%

 

 

Return on average equity         32.96%       29.82%

Return on average assets          2.46%        2.31%

 

Charge-offs — RAL                $5,807       $6,252

Charge-offs — non RAL            $4,399       $1,576

Charge-offs — total             $10,206       $7,828

 

Recoveries — RAL                 $2,323       $1,982

Recoveries- non RAL              $  872       $  608

Recoveries- total                $3,195       $2,590

 

Net charge-offs — RAL            $3,484       $4,270

Net charge-offs — non RAL        $3,527       $  968

Net charge-offs — total          $7,011       $5,238

 

Annualized net charge-offs

  to average loans – non RAL      0.51%        0.16%

 

 

                                             As of         As of            As of

                                            3/31/02       12/31/01        3/31/01

Selected EOP Balance Sheet Accounts:

  Loans                                  $2,872,664      $2,799,092     $2,590,573

  Allowance for loan losses                 $55,725         $48,872        $41,753

  Assets                                 $4,122,043      $3,960,929     $3,939,011

  Deposits                               $3,355,471      $3,365,575     $3,324,446

  Equity                                   $339,403        $325,876       $323,877

 

Actual shares

 outstanding at end of period                26,082          26,206         26,566

 

Book Value per Share                         $13.01          $12.44         $12.19

Tangible Book Value per Share                 11.68           11.27          10.98

 

Nonperforming assets:

  Loans past due 90

     days or more                           $ 1,609         $ 3,179        $ 2,983

  Nonaccrual loans                           19,091          16,940         19,197

  Total nonperforming loans                  20,700          20,119         22,180

  Other real estate owned and

    other foreclosed assets                      --              --             --

Total nonperforming assets                  $20,700         $20,119        $22,180

 

Nonperforming loans as a

    percentage of total loans                  0.72%           0.72%         0.86%

 

Nonperforming assets as a

    percentage of total assets                 0.50%           0.51%         0.56%

 

Allowance for non-RAL credit losses as

    a percentage of nonper-

    forming loans                               266%            243%           172%

 

Allowance for credit losses as a

    percentage of total loans                  1.94%           1.75%          1.61%

 

 

 

                                For the Three-Month

                              Periods Ended March 31,

                                 2002         2001

Selected average balances:

     *Exclusive of SFAS 115 adj.

  Loans—other               $3,086,271   $2,664,276

  Loans—RALs                  $261,426     $187,694

  Securities—taxable*         $638,639     $618,935

  Securities--tax exempt*     $169,676     $170,895

  Short-term funds            $195,164     $ 67,636

  Earning assets*           $4,089,750   $3,702,955

  Total Assets              $4,390,032   $4,026,800

  Non-interest deposits       $975,435     $685,751

  Interest-bearing deposits $2,715,641   $2,407,592

  Other borrowings and LTD    $343,049     $238,827

  Equity                      $328,238     $311,612

 

Average balances for the

  last five quarters:

(in thousands)                 Average    Average    Average    Average    Average

*Exclusive of SFAS 115 adj.      1Q02       4Q01       3Q01       2Q01       1Q01

 

ASSETS:

Earning Assets:

 Commercial loans              $539,993   $535,041   $543,997   $602,912   $623,127

 Consumer loans

    (inc. home equity)          302,063    291,287    281,981    269,497    272,548

 Commercial real

    estate loans              1,184,689  1,154,787  1,110,836  1,021,516    936,112

 Residential real

    estate loans                663,131    613,986    606,018    559,905    512,843

 Leasing                        134,969    134,093    136,628    135,711    131,952

 Tax refund loans               261,426         --         --     44,268    187,694

    Total loans               3,086,271  2,729,194  2,679,460  2,633,809  2,664,276

 Taxable securities*            630,667    527,693    467,108    507,781    566,704

 Tax-exempt securities*         169,676    172,540    165,144    160,348    157,154

  Total securities*             800,343    700,233    632,252    668,129    723,858

 Commercial paper                 8,440     25,178    105,522     44,895     18,153

 Interest bearing deposits           --         --         --         12         90

 Federal funds sold & repos     186,724     69,553     65,368    142,390    273,905

    Total money market

        Investments             195,164     94,731    170,890    187,297    292,148

       Total earning assets   4,081,778  3,524,158  3,482,602  3,489,235  3,680,282

Non-earning assets

  (inc. loan loss allow)        300,282    278,993    289,968    305,531    338,596

       TOTAL*                 4,382,060  3,803,151  3,772,570  3,794,766  4,018,878

SFAS Market Value Adjustment      7,972     17,489     13,459     13,197      7,922

TOTAL ASSETS                 $4,390,032 $3,820,640 $3,786,029 $3,807,963 $4,026,800

                               

LIABILITIES & SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:                               

Interest-bearing Deposits:                               

 Savings and interest bearing

    transaction accounts      1,338,015  1,330,273  1,331,888  1,312,790  1,323,942

Time deposits                 1,377,626  1,184,043  1,160,419  1,197,758  1,200,326

Total interest-

  bearing deposits            2,715,641  2,514,316  2,492,307  2,510,548  2,524,268

Repos & FF purchased            151,561     69,129     70,668     92,053    135,711

Other borrowings                191,488    185,225    180,692    124,992    138,067

  Total interest-

   bearing liabilities        3,058,690  2,768,670  2,743,667  2,727,593  2,798,046

Demand deposits                 975,435    688,857    670,512    676,141    868,043

Other liabilities                27,669     36,412     44,256     81,059     49,099

Total liabilities             4,061,794  3,493,939  3,458,435  3,484,793  3,715,188

Shareholders' equity            328,238    326,701    327,594    323,170    311,612

       TOTAL                 $4,390,032 $3,820,640 $3,786,029 $3,807,963 $4,026,800

 

Net Interest Income

  for the last 5 quarters

  (tax equivalent basis)         1Q02       4Q01       3Q01       2Q01      1Q01

 

Interest Income:                               

  Commercial loans             $  9,648   $  9,885   $ 12,889   $ 15,752   $ 17,164

  Consumer loans

     (inc. home equity)           5,815      6,665      6,482      6,317      6,540

  Commercial real

     estate loans                20,580     20,385     21,637     19,286     18,324

  Residential real

    estate  loans                11,250     10,779     10,682     10,048      9,357

  Leasing loans                   3,318      3,488      3,536      3,490      3,395

  Tax Refund Loans               16,646         81        275      1,410     24,641

   Total loan income             67,257     51,283     55,501     56,303     79,421

  Taxable securities              8,012      7,344      7,110      7,870      8,847

  Tax-exempt securities           3,964      3,968      3,890      3,739      3,710

   Total securities income       11,976     11,312     11,000     11,609     12,557

   Total money market income        771        564      1,648      2,000      3,681

    Total Interest income        80,004     63,159     68,149     69,912     95,659

 

  Interest-bearing deposits:

    Interest bearing demand dep   2,924      3,671      5,696      6,868      8,356

    Time deposits                11,004     11,919     13,652     15,856     17,072

Total interest-

      bearing deposits           13,928     15,590     19,348     22,724     25,428

  Repos & Fed funds purchased       493        256        614        712      1,674

  Other borrowings                3,124      2,812      3,147      2,077      2,839

   Total other interest           3,617      3,068      3,761      2,789      4,513

    Total Interest Expense       17,545     18,658     23,109     25,513     29,941

 

Tax equivalent net

   interest income               62,459     44,501     45,040     44,399     65,718

Tax equivalent adjustment         1,503      1,477      1,460      1,389      1,488

Reported net interest income   $ 60,956   $ 43,024   $ 43,580   $ 43,010   $ 64,230

 

 

As indicated in the text of the press release, the 2002 RAL Securitization

was accounted for as a sale of the loans with all income and expense related

to the sold loans being reported net as a gain on sale of loans.  In 2001,

all funding obtained for the RAL program was accounted for as financing

arrangements. The following table compares operating results for the first

quarter of 2002 with operating results for the first quarter of 2001 as if

the RAL securitization in 2002 had been accounted for as a financing

arrangement instead of as a sale of the loans.

 

                                     For the Three-Month     

                                   Periods Ended March 31,     

                                    2002            2001

Interest income from:

     Loans                        $81,219          $79,192

     Securities                    10,534           11,298

     Federal funds sold and

          resell agreements           721            3,409

     Commercial paper                  50              272

          Total interest income    92,524           94,171

Interest expense on:

     Deposits                      13,928           25,428

     Federal funds purchased and

          repurchase agreements       493            1,674

     Other borrowed funds           4,024            2,839

          Total interest expense   18,445           29,941

Net interest income                74,079           64,230

Provision for credit losses--RALs   6,337            7,786

Provision for credit losses--other  9,462            4,082

Net interest income after

    provision for credit losses    58,280           52,362

Noninterest revenue:

     Service charges on deposits    3,454            2,995

     Trust fees                     3,659            3,398

     Other service charges,

       commissions and fees, net   16,150           15,762

     Net gain on

          securities transactions      69                2

     Other income                   1,326            2,074

        Total noninterest revenues 24,658           24,231

Operating expense:

     Salaries and benefits         19,967           18,847

     Net occupancy expense          3,457            2,656

     Equipment expense              1,894            2,053

     Other expense                 14,813           14,494

          Total operating

            expense                40,131           38,050

Income before income taxes         42,807           38,543

Income taxes                       16,133           15,629

     Net income                   $26,674          $22,914

 

Gateway computer reports quarterly loss on 50% lower sales

 

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

 

POWAY – Struggling computer maker Gateway Inc. Thursday reported a quarterly loss of $123 million on revenues that were less than half of what it earned a year earlier.

 

Gateway posted sales of $992 million for the three months ending March 31, down from more than $2 billion a year earlier. The drop was caused by the firm's elimination of its international sales operations, store closures and the cutting of some product lines, company officials said.

 

Gateway said it lost $123 million, including $99 million in special charges, or 39 cents a share. Excluding those charges, the company lost $61 million or, or 20 cents a share, meeting expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

 

Gateway, the nation's fourth-largest computer maker, surpassed expected revenues of $978 million as it sold 645,000 units in the quarter.

 

The company, which cut prices and increased marketing in the first quarter, sold 5 percent fewer computers than in the fourth-quarter of 2001.

 

But Chief Financial Officer Joe Burke said that was actually good news since Gateway and other computer manufactures usually see a decline of 10 percent or more between the fourth and first quarters.

 

The company, based in the San Diego suburb of Poway, typically sees sales fall about 7 percent between the first and second quarters, but this year Gateway expects revenues to remain flat because of its marketing efforts, Burke said. "We're feeling very positive," he said.

 

The company, which closed 19 of its Gateway Country stores in the first quarter, now has 277 outlets. There are no immediate plans to for "major" additional closures or layoffs, Burke said.

 

 

 

On the Net:

 

www.gateway.com

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

UPS posts flat first-quarter earnings of $563 million

 

By Justin Bachman, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) First-quarter net income was little changed from a year ago at United Parcel Service, which said Thursday it anticipates more difficult times ahead in a still-struggling economy.

 

But strong international shipping volumes helped UPS, the world's largest package hauler, beat Wall Street forecasts.

 

UPS earned $563 million, or 50 cents per share, in the first three months of 2002, with one less business day. That compares to a profit of $556 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same period last year, including a $26 million reduction to adopt a new accounting standard for derivatives.

 

The results were 3 cents a share better than the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

 

UPS said it remains comfortable with analyst forecasts of per-share earnings between 50 and 55 cents in the second quarter.

 

''We are not seeing the economy coming back in the short term,'' UPS chief financial officer Scott Davis said in a conference call with analysts. ''Certainly, we would like to see that happen, but we're assuming that we're going to see the same economy in the second quarter that we saw in the first quarter.''

 

In a later interview, Davis said the company has ''no reason not to believe'' forecasts predicting more robust economic activity in the second half of 2002.

 

Revenue rose 1.9 percent, to $7.57 billion, from $7.43 billion in the same quarter of 2001.

 

The company reduced its quarterly revenue by $75 million as it changed the revenue reporting of all its divisions so that all revenues will be net. Previously, some businesses UPS acquired reported gross revenues.

 

The company's average daily volume in Asia where UPS opened a hub earlier this month in the Philippines rose 11 percent. European export volume was up 13 percent.

 

But in the United States, where the company earns the majority of its income, ground volume fell 1.6 percent and higher-margin air shipments were down 1.1 percent. Consolidated average daily volume dropped 1.3 percent, to 13.2 million packages.

 

Analysts praised the Atlanta-based freight company's efforts to control costs during the downturn, which has not affected yields.

 

''It's a rational market for pricing right now,'' Davis said.

 

Also during the quarter, UPS opened talks with the Teamsters union on a new contract. The current five-year pact expires July 31. Negotiations were scheduled this week in Dallas.

 

Separately, UPS said it had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that 30 million shares of Class B stock would be sold by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the UPS Retirement Fund if the company is included in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

 

If the S&P includes UPS, an estimated 70 million to 100 million shares would be needed to supply mutual funds and other investments that track the S&P 500.

 

UPS shares rose 12 cents to $61.02 in late trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

On the Net:

 

http://www.ups.com

 

  (No comment on UPS Leasing going direct to UPS customers for equipment leasing business.editor)

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