Although many private banks have been besieged by the credit crisis, subprime loans and mortgage foreclosures, Wisconsin's credit unions appear to be charging ahead with few problems. According to the mid-year bulletin of the Wisconsin Department of Institutions Office of Credit Unions, the total assets of credit unions in the state grew to $17.8 billion as of June 30, up 7.4 percent, or $1.2 billion, from the beginning of the year.

Wisconsin credit unions' net worth ratio remained strong at 10.78 percent. Their delinquent loans were 1.14 percent, down from 1.27 percent as of December 31, 2007. Their return on average assets was up slightly to 0.72 percent, compared with 0.67 percent in June 2007. Wisconsin credit unions' loans outstanding grew by $629 million, and savings grew by $1.1 billion. Their loan-to share ratio continues to be high at 92.89 percent.

"Overall, the financial indicators for Wisconsin credit unions exhibit sound financial performance for the first half of 2008 amid volatile and challenging markets," wrote Suzanne Cowan, director of the Office of Credit Unions.

"Overall, Wisconsin credit unions have fared very well in this tough economy. Not-for-profit credit unions look to provide affordable services that are in their members' best interests. The financial prosperity of its membership equates to the credit unions' stability and growth, so while this is good news for Wisconsin credit unions, it's especially good news for the 2.1 million credit union members across the state," said Jo Whiting, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer of the Wisconsin Credit Union League in Pewaukee.

Losses mount for Marine Bank's parent company
Pewaukee-based CIB Marine Bancshares Inc. joins the growing list of American financial institutions under severe distress from the collapse of the housing market. The company recently reported it lost $14.0 million, or 76 cents per share, from its continuing operations in the second quarter. For the first half of the year, the firm lost $16.7 million.

CIB Marine said key contributors to the large continuing operating loss included continued depression of its net interest margin, continued deterioration in its purchased home equity loan portfolios and general declining economic conditions in some of its markets.

At the direction of its board of directors, the company engaged an investment banker to assist management in identifying and contacting other bank holding companies regarding a possible merger or business combination.

CIB Marine is the parent company of Wauwatosa-based Marine Bank, Central Illinois Bank in Champaign, Ill., and Citrus Bank N.A. in Vero Beach, Fla. CIB Marine continues to take steps to implement a capital plan discussed in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.

CIB Marine previously announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell the branches, deposits and most of the loans of Citrus Bank N.A. to a third party.

John Hickey Jr., president and chief executive officer of CIB Marine, said, "The management and board of CIB Marine continue to execute on the capital plan in an effort to provide the greatest value possible to the shareholders during these difficult times for CIB Marine and the financial service industry in general. I would like to emphasize to our customers and employees that CIB, Marine Bank and Citrus Bank exceed the regulatory requirements for well-capitalized financial institutions."

Madison's Anchor Bancorp posts lower earnings for 2Q
Anchor Bancorp, the parent company for Madison-based Anchor Bank, recently posted second quarter net earnings of $5.5 million, down from $9.9 million in the second quarter of 2007.

The bank also posted $9.4 million in loan loss provisions, up from $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2007. The bank's loan loss increase was largely due to the deteriorating residential real estate market, said Douglas Timmerman, chairman and CEO.

"While net interest income was up, this was offset by our decision to increase our provision for loan losses, which we felt (was) sensible given the continued sluggish performance of the real estate market and the increase of our non-performing assets," Timmerman said.

Anchor Bank is the largest creditor for First Place on the River, a 151-unit condo project in Milwaukee's Third Ward that filed for receivership earlier this year. The bank has provided a $48 million mortgage for the project.

Ladish to acquire California firm
Cudahy-based Ladish Co. has entered into an agreement to acquire Chen-Tech Industries Inc. of Irvine, Calif., for approximately $59 million in cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008.

Kerry Woody, president and chief executive officer of Ladish, said, "Chen-Tech, with projected 2008 sales of about $50 million, is a highly regarded manufacturer of jet engine forgings for mutual customers such as General Electric. Chen-Tech's expertise in forging nickel-based and titanium components for smaller jet engines serving single aisle, regional, and business aircraft is a great complement to Ladish's expertise in forging larger engine components."

Chen-Tech has been led by Shannon Ko for more than 15 years. Ko and his team will continue to manage Chen-Tech after the acquisition, Woody said. "By combining Chen-Tech's strengths with Ladish's material technology and global market position, we have laid a foundation to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities. The merger provides Ladish with a broadened product offering and increased market share on mutual aerospace programs. Working together, we believe synergistic savings will further enhance long-term profitability," Woody said.

Ladish manufactures highly engineered, technically advanced components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets.

Lavelle acquires Connecticut company
Burlington-based Lavelle Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of custom molded rubber and plastic parts, announced it has acquired Syntex Rubber Corp. of Bridgeport, Conn. Lavelle said the acquisition was fueled by a combination of the state of the economy and rising material costs.

A vertically integrated manufacturer, Lavelle Industries offers a broad spectrum of materials and processing options. Manufacturing capabilities include: conventional molding, injection molding, rubber-metal bonding, lathe cutting, secondary operations, and custom material development.

Lavelle manufactures a line of toilet repair products under their Korky brand name.

First Business Bank – Milwaukee recently hired Melissa Jarmuz as client services representative and Karin Lawton administrative associate. First Business Bank – Milwaukee is a part of First Business Financial Services, Inc.

Securant Bank & Trust recently hired Sonja Johnson as the trust operations officer and Michael Karbouski as Vice President, Financial Consultant. Both will work from the bank's Milwaukee office.

PrivateBank-Wisconsin names new leadership team
PrivateBancorp Inc. has promoted three prominent Milwaukee banking veterans to lead The PrivateBank-Wisconsin.

Mark Lemke is named vice chairman and chief executive officer of The PrivateBank-Wisconsin. Additionally, Thomas Tuttle Jr. is named president and chief operating officer, and Roger Pillsbury is named vice chair.

Lemke replaces John "Jay" Williams, who remains chairman of the board of directors for The PrivateBank-Wisconsin and is chief operating officer for Chicago-based PrivateBancorp Inc.

Tuttle and Pillsbury are moving into newly created positions.

"Mark, Tom and Roger know the Milwaukee market extremely well and are ideally suited to lead our Wisconsin bank as we move toward our vision to be the bank of choice for middle market commercial and commercial real estate companies, as well as deliver exceptional service to business owners, entrepreneurs, executives and wealthy families," said Larry Richman, president and CEO of PrivateBancorp Inc.

Lemke was a managing director of The PrivateBank-Wisconsin and joined the bank upon its founding in 2004 to assist with the expansion into the Milwaukee market. Lemke previously was a senior vice president at U.S. Bank Milwaukee.

Tuttle has more than 17 years of experience advising clients. Along with Lemke and Williams, Tuttle helped established The PrivateBank-Wisconsin. He previously served as vice president and director of wealth management at Marshall & Ilsley Trust Co., Milwaukee.

Pillsbury joined The PrivateBank-Wisconsin in December and has more than 27 years of experience meeting the lending needs of Wisconsin clients, particularly middle-market companies. Pillsbury previously was senior vice president and director of LaSalle Bank's central region headquartered in Milwaukee.

"The Wisconsin market has always presented strong growth opportunities for The PrivateBank," Williams said. "As we continue to enhance the services we deliver to middle-market companies in particular, having a leadership team with the strength and depth that Mark, Tom and Roger bring will provide tremendous value to our clients."

New Mequon company inspects mortgage documents for buyers
A new company, Mortgage Loan Inspection (MLI) LLC in Mequon, has created a mortgage document inspection program designed to protect homeowners and homebuyers who are financing or refinancing their home.

"This will restore the very much needed consumer confidence in the mortgage industry," said Ross Lewin, president of the company. "Today's mortgage crisis has changed many lives in the nation, and not for the better. Foreclosures are at an all-time high and one economic research company even predicts one million foreclosed homes by year-end. Families are being displaced, and the economy is suffering. As many people are now learning, it's too late to fix a mortgage problem after it's already happened. No matter how many laws the government passes, it's still up to individuals to protect themselves during the mortgage transaction. Unfortunately, even the new lending guidelines and policies provide little, if any protection."

MLI has designed its mortgage loan inspection program to provide a thorough review of all the loan documents associated with a mortgage, from the initial application and lender disclosures to the final loan closing document review, Lewin said.

"We constantly look for lender errors or abuses and prevent lending problems before they happen. We will identify any federal or state disclosure violations, unethical broker/lender mortgage loan practices, excessive fees, kickbacks known as 'yield spread premiums,' inflated interest rates, prepayment penalties, and changes in mortgage terms or conditions and any other areas of concern," Lewin said.

For additional information, visit www.mortgageloaninspection.com.