‘House of Pain’
Pedro Medellin, a young Pewaukee bank teller who lives with his mother, struggles to pay a $103,500 high-interest loan for an often-vandalized house on Milwaukee’s north side that he says he was duped into buying. The story of how a 24-year-old man with a negative net worth received a six-figure loan from a reputable lender shows how eager the financial community was to dole out subprime loans before the nation’s mortgage meltdown, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. (5/31/08)

Wis. Banks Cutting Dividends
With increasing numbers of shaky loans and a growing interest in preserving capital, many banks have been suspending or cutting their dividends, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. (5/31/08)

CEO Compensation Analyzed
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis of the latest proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by 60 Wisconsin-based publicly held companies shows average annual total CEO compensation of $3.1 million. “Federal requirements for fuller disclosure appear to be influencing how corporate boards compensate chief executives,” the Journal Sentinel wrote. (5/24/08)

M&I Adds MN Branches
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is opening three more branches in the Twin Cities this year, with seven additional new Minneapolis/St. Paul locations to open in 2009 and beyond, according to The Business Journal of Milwaukee. M&I currently has 26 Twin Cities branches. (5/22/08)

Amcore ‘For Sale Every Day’
Rockford, Ill.-based Amcore Financial Inc. acknowledged to shareholders recently that the bank has held conversations with potential merger partners, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. William McManaman, the new chief executive of the $5.2 billion bank, was quoted as saying, “We have conversations from time to time with many people in the financial-services industry. We’re a public company. We’re for sale every day.” (5/16/08)

Banker to Speak at Economic Event
A WisBusiness.com-WisPolitics.com breakfast event at 7:45 a.m. June 3 at the Madison Club will explore the topic “The Wisconsin Economy in a Time of Uncertainty.” Featured speakers include Scott Lockard, U.S. Bank, Madison market president; James R. Imhoff, Jr., chairman/CEO, First Weber Group, Inc.; and Bill Duddleston, director of the Center for Economic Education at Edgewood College. See WisBusiness.com for more information. (5/15/08)

Wis. CUs’ Earnings Rise
Earnings for Wisconsin’s not-for-profit credit unions rose almost 20 percent in the first quarter, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The state’s CUs had net income of more than $28.1 million in the quarter ended March 31, up from $23.5 million in the same quarter in 2007. (5/15/08)

Associated to Build in Milwaukee
The disclosure that Associated Banc-Corp is looking at a new headquarters for its downtown Milwaukee offices has local developers maneuvering to land the project, which would be among the largest new office buildings downtown, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Development plans call for a six-story building that would house Associated’s local operations, which are now split among three Milwaukee buildings. (5/14/08)

GB Bank Acquires Investment Firm
Nicolet National Bank in Green Bay announced plans to acquire Brookfield Investment Partners LLC. Brookfield’s Michael J. Steppe will become chief investment officer in charge of wealth management at the bank. Steppe will oversee about $600 million in assets the bank manages for its customers as well as Nicolet’s portfolio of about $70 million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. (5/13/08)

West Pointe Leads Oshkosh Market
West Pointe Bank and Trust added $29.5 million in assets in 2007 and remained Oshkosh’s leader in market share of deposits, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported. The bank also announced it has named its first new director in the bank’s 13-year history. Norm Bock of Bock Insurance will fill a board seat vacated this year by Russ Sprung. (5/13/08)

Banks Host Shred Days
“Shred days” at financial institutions can help people prevent identity theft. When North Shore Bank held a shred day at its branches recently, about 32,000 pounds of paper from customers and community members was destroyed. Another shred day that the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau hosted at M&I Bank branches in Wauwatosa, Madison and Appleton collected and shredded 25,000 pounds of paper, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (5/12/08)

De Novo Board Announced
A group of business people, most with ties to the Sheboygan area, have joined the board of Lake Shore Wisconsin Corp., the proposed holding company for the planned Lake Shore Bank, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (5/6/08)

Execs Cash in Stock Options
Marshall & Ilsley Corp., the Milwaukee-based parent company of M&I Bank, announced that three of its top executives have exercised stock options that were expiring this year. Details can be found in the Small Business Times of Milwaukee. (5/6/08).

Metavante Off to Strong Start
Metavante Technologies Inc. reported first quarter net income of $35.0 million, or 29 cents per share, and quarterly revenue of $424.6 million, reported the Small Business Times of Milwaukee. Marshall & Ilsley Corp. spun off the company last November. (5/6/08)

B of A Logos Replace LaSalle’s
Bank of America Corp. is officially marking its $21 billion purchase of Chicago’s LaSalle Bank Corp., taking down LaSalle’s green and yellow colors for the blue and red of Bank of America, the Associated Press reported. (5/5/08)

Holding Co. Buying Back Stock
Citizens Community Bancorp Inc., the Eau Claire-based parent of Citizens Community Federal, announced plans to repurchase up to 10 percent of its 6.7 million shares outstanding, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. (5/5/08)

Banker Grew Up in Business
Jim Bradley, CEO of Home Savings Bank in Madison, is a second-generation president who recalls hanging out at the bank as a young boy with his father, James, who preceded him as president. He said he learned to drive by going out to inspect construction sites for loan verification and later became a teller and branch office manager in a story in the Wisconsin State Journal. (5/3/08)

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