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WEEK OF MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016
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A Publication of The Warren Group SKIMMING OFF THE TOP
Banks Try To Stay Ahead Of Skimmer Attacks With ATM Skimming On The Rise, Regulators Warn FIs To Stay Vigilant BY LAURA ALIX BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
S
kimming attacks have been on the rise in Massachusetts, and Bay State banks and credit unions of all sizes are fair game for these increasingly wily miscreants. In response to a rise in the number of skimming attacks in Massachusetts, the state’s office of consumer affairs and business regulation last week put out an alert that it would be taking steps to curtail the problem. Additionally, Banking Commissioner David J. Cotney penned a letter to the Bay State’s financial institutions, urging Massachusetts banks and credit unions to step up inspections of their ATMs, to test those controls regularly, participate in information-sharing forums and include ATM security in their risk assessments. In an email to Banker & Tradesman, the division noted skimming attacks on Continued on Page 9
FORECLOSURE UP
FORECLOSURE W PETITIONS UP AGAIN; Opinions Differ On Reasons Why Nearly Two Years Of Double-Digit Growth Won’t Soon Slow, Experts Say
PETITIONS TO FORECLOSE IN JANUARY
Market-Rate Housing More Beneficial Than Affordable?
2016
924
50%
2015
618
70%
San Francisco Study Finds Even Luxury Units Help Relieve Housing Crunch
2014
364
61%
B
oston’s luxury housing boom has some housing activists seeing red, as the Greater Boston area becomes a poster child for gentrification. But if an important new study out of the West Coast is to be believed, that anger is seriously misplaced. In fact, building market-rate housing – even luxury housing for rich people – actually has the beneficial effect of removing higher earners out of the competition for older apartments and condominiums, finds a report by the research arm of the California Legislature. The study looked closely at the Bay Continued on Page 3
hile it’s a fact that there have been double-digit increases in foreclosure petitions in each of the past 23 months, what’s behind the trend and what it means depends on whether you look at it from the bank’s perspective, or the homeowner’s. And there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. Methuen attorney Maria Bonanno of Manzi, Bonanno & Bowers studies the foreclosures of properties that she conveys and has determined that most of them are not recently delinquent. She said they’re typically people who have owned their home for 10 to 12 years and have been delinquent since 2008 or so. She said she thinks that it will take another year or two for banks to complete the process of foreclosing on homes stalled in their pipeline. “The market hasn’t shot up as high as people think,” she said. “We’ll see the market increase 5 percent a year or so, then people can sell their homes and get out from under. I’ve also seen a decrease in short sales. They’ve pretty much been cut in half.” Bonanno said the new TRID regulations ensure buyers receive more education at the beginning of the process, and knowing what they’re getting into when they take out a mortgage now will mean fewer foreclosures in the future. Continued on Page 8
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
BY JIM MORRISON | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
2013
2012
934 1,333
30% 68%
“We don’t see any difference in the process of the banks doing the foreclosing. They’re violating as many laws now as they did then.” — Grace Ross, Executive Director, Mass. Alliance Against Predatory Lending
CONTENTS
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Commercial & Industrial ���������������������������������������� 10
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 13
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Banking & Lending �������������������������������������������������� 9
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1