Richmond-based First Market Bank was acquired by Union Bankshares Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at about $100 million. The new holding company will move its headquarters from Bowling Green to Richmond, although that will only bring a few jobs downtown.
Banking
It’s still good to be the banker
Tarp Schmarp. Executives at Union Bankshares Corp., the parent of local Union Bank and Trust and its 43 locations, earned slightly more in 2008 than in 2007, despite a rough year. The bank accepted $59 million in federal money as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, cut the dividend payment to stock holders by… Read more »
Calling all good business loans
Change takes time. That’s one reason the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority cites when asked why its Loan Guaranty Program, which launched in October, has failed to guarantee a single loan.
Virginia bank acquires 4 branches in Md.
Another failed bank is just another opportunity for Tappahannock-based Bank of Essex. On Saturday, the Bank of Essex assumed operations of Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Crofton Md. after it was seized by federal regulators on Friday. The Bank of Essex, which is owned by Community Bankers Trust Corporation in Glen Allen, purchased all $312… Read more »
Bank branches out to Georgia
The Bank of Essex has assumed $600 million in deposits previously held by The Community Bank in Loganville, Ga. A Richmond-based bank has gobbled up deposits of a failed Georgia bank. Tappahannock-based Bank of Essex has assumed $600 million in deposits previously held by The Community Bank in Loganville, Ga.
Check this out: The RBS Guide for small business checking
Most businesses should try to keep about a month’s worth of cash in the account. The balance is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000. A normal balance might be between $5,000 and $10,000 for a start-up or small business. A small business savings account can earn more interest and is easily… Read more »
What’s happening to lending: a Q&A with the CEO of First Market Bank
Banks, like humans, fear the unknown. If they can’t assess the value of an asset, say a 10-acre piece of dirt in Henrico County, they don’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole. And if they don’t trust each other, they won’t lend overnight, which is part of the grease that keeps the financial… Read more »
SunTrust cuts back on cleaning service
SunTrust Bank has cut back its janitorial services from every night to every-other-night, according to an employee at the company. The cuts are at the office on the Southside but may also occur at the office on East Main Street.
Business loans harder to get
Bankers are taking longer to issue business loans and asking for more collateral when they do issue them, according to bankers around Richmond. Even companies with solid credit and long-established relationships are having more trouble getting financing, which is an essential ingredient for growth. The number of loan requests, meanwhile, is also falling. “Entrepreneurs feel… Read more »
Richmond Banks Still Lending
Some Richmond-area banks are growing pickier about which businesses get financing. With a possible recession on the horizon, banks are extra careful to protect their investments. And there’s less money to lend, bankers say, in part because of fallout from residential mortgages (read: subprime meltdown).