Page 651 - Demo

Brooklyn,____ incDime Stock Falls With Rest Of Market, But Brokers Are Still HopefulBY TRACY GARRITYAlthough brokers say it is too early tospeculate on the future success of themassive offering of stock in the Dime Savings Bank that went on sale to the public inAugust, the price of a share continues to fallfrom its initial offering figure, and is currently hovering in the $15 range.The Dime offering %u2014 a fairly recentphenomena for thrifts that want to raisenew capital by converting from mutual tostock institutions %u2014 was made in lateAugust with the stock priced at $17. Following an intitial rise to $18.50, the stock hasconsistently lost points, although most WallStreet prices have taken a beating duringthe past week.According to Marie Monoco of SalomonBrothers, the lead brokerage firm in the offering, it is too early to draw any conclusions about the stock. %u201cWe like to wait atleast three months before we evaluate astock,%u201d she said. %u201cThis stock is currentlyreflecting the market.%u201dMonoco added that the Dime stock wasfalling off at the same rate as other thrifts,and had not been singled out by investors.%u201cIt%u2019s on line with other thrifts,%u201d she said.Apple Bank, American Savings andCrossland, three thrifts that went publicseveral months ago, have also lost severalpoints in the last week.The Dime Savings Bank %u2014 the state%u2019sthird largest thrift institution %u2014 is one of agrowing number of thrift institutions thatoffer investors a piece of the action, in aneffort to raise a lot of capital very quickly.The Dime offered 19.5 million shares of thestock to the public, and once sold will raisein excess of $300 million for the bank. AppleBank raised $54 million with its offering andCrossland raised $130 million. Crossland,another strong Brooklyn thrift institution istrading in the $14 range following a $24 high.It, too, has tumbled several points in thelast week.The Dime needs the money to betterserve its clientele, according to bank officers who embarked on a 17-stop road tripto promote the possibility of going publicover the summer. According to Arthur J.Bassin, executive vice president and chiefbanking officer for the Dime, the bank currently meets federal financial regulationsbut would not have enough capital to makechanges and offer more services to thecustomer. %u201cThis will allow us to expandmore quickly and to become more competitive with the commercial banks,%u201d hesays.Although the Dime showed a profit during1985 and thus far in 1986, the bank experienced significant losses in net worthbetween 1981 and 1984. The net worth declined from $311 million in 1981 to $33.5million in 1984. An unaudited report inMarch, 1986, showed the bank%u2019s net worth at$93.5 million.Despite what appears to be lukewarm interest in the stock, the Dime officers arestill hoping this will give them the capitalthey need to expand. %u201cWe could do this onour own,%u201d says Bassin. %u201cBut this will giveus the financial strength to do it faster.%u201dChase Men Say Brooklyn Is Best Place To Be In Banking These DaysBY MICHAEL A. ARMSTRONG%u201cIf there%u2019s a place to be in banking thesedays, it%u2019s here in Brooklyn.%u201d That%u2019s theview of Chase Manhattan Vice PresidentEamon Quinn, talking about the busymarketplace he%u2019s come to this year.Chase, with 17 branches in its Brooklynregion, one new one just opened this springon Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, is hardafter new Brooklyn commercial businessand a group of the bank%u2019s Brooklyn executives recently talked about their views.Patrick McGrath, like Quinn, likes the action he finds in the borough. Relocated froma Chase branch in the bank%u2019s headquartersbuilding in the Wall Street area, he enjoysthe very different kind of business he is doing here. %u201cYou go down streets with nosidewalks, then open the door and insideyou find a busy, modem factory,%u201d he says.A strong focus of Chase attention thesedays, both men say, is in Williamsburg andGreenpoint with their literally hundreds ofsmall companies, %u201cand more coming fromManhattan every day,%u201d says McGrath.Ronnie Brack, a Chase banker based at16 Court Street, says that one of the trendshe is watching these days in Brooklyn is thebusiness condominium. %u201cIf someone hadthought of this 15 years ago, the printingand apparel industries would still be inManhattan.%u201dChase, like every bank, is putting moreemphasis on training and selectivity of personnel. %u201cIt%u2019s part of the bankingrevolution,%u201d says McGrath, %u201cbut it also extends to asking more of our own people.Branch managers, for example, are beingasked to become more aggressive in theirmarkets. And we%u2019re looking to recruit people who already know their markets, likelooking to recruit people for Brooklyn fromBrooklyn.%u201dB A N K I N G B R I E F S ~ BrooklynChemical Has BrailleChemical Bank now has a brailleautomated teller machine (ATM) availablein Brooklyn for use by blind and visuallyimpaired bank customers. The braille ATMis located at 50 Court St. opposite BoroughHall. Chemical offers 69 of these brailleATMs throughout the greater New York Cityarea.%u201cBraille ATMs are an innovative approach to everyday banking, responding tothe special needs of blind consumers,%u201d saysKenneth H. Thom, head of consumerbusiness for Chemical Bank. %u201cWe are proudthat by expanding our braille ATM program, we have made this added bankingconvenience available to many more blindand visually impaired individuals.%u201dThe ATM is equipped with a self-adhesivemetal braille instruction sheet. The systemwas developed by Margarine G. Beaman,Project Chairman for the Austin, TexasJunior Women%u2019s Federation. Currently,more than 6,000 automated teller machinesacross the nation are equipped with similarspecial instructions for blind consumers.Chemical Bank also provides a braillechecking account for its blind and visuallyimpaired customers.Association Prom otesThree staff officers of the Savings BanksAssociation of New York State: George J.Kelly, Clifford S. Weber and Rod Gabriel;have been promoted. At the same time,Robert O. Lehrman, SBANYS President,also announced two additional staff promotions.George J. Kelly has been promoted fromvice president and secretary to senior vicepresident and secretary of SBANYS. Kellyjoined the association in 1971 as director ofpublic information. He was previouslydirector of public relations and newsbureau, American Bankers Association.uuttord 5. weoer, or Brooklyn, was promoted from general counsel to generalcounsel and assistant secretary. He joinedthe association last March, after havingbeen counsel to the New York Stateare with the home equity product. The maximum credit line is $95,000; minimum creditline is $15,000. The line is determined basedon 75 percent of the appraised value of thehouse, less any existing mortgage. For information cpll NatWest at (212) 602-1000.Bowery Is N Y C EThe Bowery is one of many banks to hookinto a network of automated tellermachines (ATM%u2019s) that allow its customersto get money from any New York Cash Exchange (NYCE) or Instabank machines.The NYCE and Instabank network allowscustomers of any member financial institution to draw money from any other memberATM using their current bank card. NYCEhas 134 participating financial institutionswith 2,336 ATM%u2019s in several states.Instabank, exclusively in New York State,was founded in 1976 and has 38 financial institutions with 527 ATM%u2019s, in 420 locations.The Bowery will add 29 ATM%u2019s to the networks.American Targets BizAmerican Savings Bank has addedbusiness checking to its growing list offinancial products. The business checkingaccount is enhanced by an instant line ofcredit for $1,000 to secure overdraft protection, the bank reports.%u201cBusiness checking is a natural additionto the products and services we already areproviding for many business employees,%u201dsays Dennis Devere, executive vice president in charge of retail operations. %u201cWehave been serving these customers foryears with retirement accounts, certificatesof deposit and money market accounts.%u201dThe overdraft protection costs thebusiness nothing until it is used. At thatpoint all business pays is the current interest rate on the actual amount borrowed,plus monthly loan payments. In addition theaccounts are tier structured enabling somebusinesses to nave a virtually tree account,provided a daily balance does not fall below$5,000. There is no check writing charge ora charge for making a deposit. Monthly feesare $10-$15 for balances under $5,000.Assembly Committee on Insurance since1983.Rod T. Gabriel was promoted from assistant director of finance to deputy comptroller and director of accounting. He joinedthe Association in January, 1985, comingfrom the Dime Savings Bank of New Yorkwhere he was Senior Accountant in Accounting Control.Anthony Bulla was promoted from assistant director, research, to deputy director,research. A former mathematics teacher,he joined SBANYS seven years ago as astatistical assistant.Judith Payne was promoted from assistant director, personnel and administration,to deputy director, personnel and administration. She has been associated withSBANYS for ten years.Nat West Sets RateAs incentive to drum up business for itsnew home equity product, NationalWestminster Bank USA has guaranteed thatits rate will not exceed 9.5 percent throughAugust 31, 1987.%u201cWe are one of the few banks in the country that has capped the rate on its homeequity product,%u201d said Tom Winn, head ofthe bank%u2019s Consumer Credit Division. %u201cOurrates are very competitive and the productoffers consumers a line of credit for 15years. Home equity loans may be used forcollege tuitions, home improvements or major purchases.No application fees, points, or annual feesInspecting blueprints for the new Conservatory and education complex at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are Manufacturers Hanover Vice Presidents Nicholas Barbara (left) and- %u2022' %u2022%u2022 %u2022 %u2022 %u25a0 %u25a0%u00bb %u2022%u2022%u2022 os i . %u00ab-%u00bb %u00bb %u2014 i- ^ %u2014 r%u00bb%u2014%u201e:,4 *. r\\ c Tk%u00ab knnl/ IVOII IX O IIO I \\l tyi 11/ Willi UlUUIMyil UUtaillV uaiucil I I U U IU V /I i i i^ w i i u i w . m v v i w . %u00ab %u00ab . . . %u00bb v .ficiais recently presented Moore with the first: increment of a $50,000 grant for this special project. In the background Is one of three glass pavilions which will encase the tropical, desert, and temperate environments. The finished complex will include an aquatic greenhouse, a Bonsai house, and an education building. Phase two of the project involves rebuilding existing garden buildings.Page 27, The Pho%u00abnlx/BrocV!yn,lnc Section TWo, September 18,1986