Bankers Exchange Services

LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Company, Inc. announced that effective November 24th, they would not be accepting any new exchange customers and would be terminating their operations immediately. A significant portion of the exchange funds that Land America Exchange received were invested in securities that they are currently unable to sell or borrow against. Exchangers needing access to their funds in order to close on replacement properties within their prescribed time lines may face real challenges.

If you have a 1031 exchange transaction that you need to open, please consider Bankers Exchange Services. BES, wholly owned by Bay Commercial Bank, is participating in the FDIC Insurance “Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program”. This program allows for all exchange funds deposited into non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts and held in domestic offices of participating FDIC-insured institutions, to be fully insured. This provides an excellent option for exchangers whose proceeds will be over the current FDIC limit of $250K for individuals or $500K for joint accounts. You will be assured that the entire amount will be backed by the FDIC while held by Bankers Exchange Services. This program has been put into place by the FDIC and will remain in effect until at least December 31, 2009.

We also offer other types of deposit instruments including interest bearing and CDARS accounts. Some restrictions apply to the CDARS account, so please contact us for details.

When you work with Bankers Exchange Services, you will work with our highly experienced and professional exchange team. We have certified exchange specialists® on staff as well as an advisory attorney, all of whom will be happy to answer questions and lend assistance in structuring your exchange. We look forward to earning your trust and providing you with excellent service.

Bankers Exchange Services can be reached toll free at (877)989-1031 and has three locations to serve you in Walnut Creek, Oakland and Long Beach, California.

Bankers Exchange Services is participating in the FDIC Insurance Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.  The definition of this programs is; all funds in noninterest-bearing transaction deposit accounts held in domestic offices of participating FDIC-insured institutions will be fully insured.  This should be a huge relief to any exchange client that will have over the current FDIC limit of ($250K for individual or $500K for joint accounts).  What this means is that you or your client can rest assured that any amount will be backed by the FDIC while held by Bankers Exchange Services.  This program has been put into place by the FDIC and will remain in effect until December 31, 2009.

Bankers Exchange Services is offering this program in conjuction with our CDARS program so clients can take advante of earning interest on their funds as well.  Some restrictions apply, so call us for details.

Bankers Exchange Services headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA (877) 989-1031

An article posted in the money section of MSN.com titled, “Could Your Bank be the Next to Fail?” caught my eye this week. The article summarized the recent seizure of IndyMac Bank by the FDIC and offered ways to protect yourself.

The author also noted it was difficult for the average consumer to do research on which banks may be in trouble. That is certainly true, but only because most consumers don’t know where to look.

The FDIC’s website is one of the best resources for this research. It’s surprisingly easy to navigate, and offers explanations of most of the terms and data shown.

One of the best data points to examine is the “Tier One Capital ratio.” Tier One Capital is the ratio used by regulators as an overall indicator of the financial well-being and stability of a bank. The higher the Tier One Ratio, the more likely a bank will be able to handle a greater-than-average withdrawal of deposits and/or problems with assets such as real estate loans.

In contrast, a lower Tier One Ratio is a strong indicator of trouble; in which case, the FDIC steps in. The regulators start to pay attention when banks Tier One Ratio slips below 6%.

Speaking of the FDIC stepping in…To many consumers, this seems to be a sign of complete disaster. Fortunately, thanks to the FDIC insurance, it’s not. However, one of the ways you can protect yourself against loss is to have a better understanding of how FDIC deposit insurance works before you open accounts.

The FDIC insures deposits of up to $100,000.00. Until recently, anyone wanting to deposit more than $100,000.00 and have it completely insured had to open individual accounts with several different banking institutions and/or utilize different account ownership types to achieve greater levels of insurance coverage.

While this is the safe approach, it is time consuming and can be tedious to have multiple banking relationships. At the present, banks like Bay Commercial Bank in Walnut Creek, California are a member of CDARS®, Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service. Using the CDARS® service, you can access up to $30 million in FDIC protection on your CD investments. “One bank, one rate and one statement”. A single statement is sent out detailing all of the CD investments. As with most certificates of deposit, CDARS® offers various maturity options to choose from.

CDARS® is not right for everyone and not all banks offer the service. However, between FDIC deposit insurance and the newer CDARS®, most consumers can put aside concerns about losing funds on deposit in banks.

In closing, let’s go back to the excellent resources offered on the FDIC’s website. If you want to know how your bank is doing, if you want to know the earnings history, the capital base, information regarding the level of past due loans, the number of employees or other interesting characteristics, this site is for you. As lenders, we often say “know your borrower”; as clients, you may want to say ‘know your bank”. If after all your research efforts are exhausted and you still have questions, give the CEO of your bank a call (what a novel concept).

By: George Guarini, CEO Bay Commercial Bank (925) 476-1800