By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Jan 19, 2018 | Reprints | Unlock Link 
The holding company of Medford-based Century Bank reported net income of just $25,000 for the fourth quarter of 2017, a 99.6 percent decrease from the same period a year ago when the bank reported $6.5 million net income.
By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Jan 8, 2018 | Reprints | Unlock Link
The holding company of Berkshire Bank is expecting to take a write-down of $21 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 due to a recalculation of its deferred tax assets triggered by the new tax law, the company said in a statement.
By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Dec 31, 2017 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Community banks are sure to be winners under the new tax reform. The cut in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent will free up cash that could result in bigger dividends for public banks, investments in new products and special projects, and hiring more talent.
By Ryan Herzog | Special to Banker & Tradesman | Jun 25, 2023 | Reprints | Unlock Link
The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates steady signals that central bankers believe it is time to hit pause, at least temporarily, on their aggressive campaign to tame runaway inflation.
By James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Oct 19, 2022 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Amesbury-based BankProv announced Tuesday that a soured $28 million loan to a bitcoin mining company will create a hit to its third-quarter earnings.
Amazon reported its first quarterly loss since 2015 on Thursday, its money-making juggernaut stalled by a slowdown in pandemic-induced online shopping and a huge write-down of its investment in an electric-vehicle startup.
By Thomas J. Curry, Kate Henry and Armand J. Santaniello | Special to Banker & Tradesman | Dec 27, 2020 | Reprints | Unlock Link
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) released its 2020 Annual Report on Dec. 3. The FSOC, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, aims to (1) identify risks to the country’s financial stability arising from financial distress or the failure of bank holding companies and nonbank financial companies, (2) promote market
By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Jan 16, 2019 | Reprints | Unlock Link
The parent company of Medford-based Century Bank had record earnings for the year of 2018.
By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Aug 5, 2018 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s balance sheet looked pretty pristine at the end of the second quarter –non-performing assets made up a measly 0.2 percent of total assets. But beneath the surface, there was a black spot.
Feb 11, 2018 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Changes to the SALT deduction, while it will complicate the tax filings of thousands of Massachusetts residents, won’t do anything to slow the state’s runaway housing prices. The U.S. tax code is purposefully complicated. One silver lining of its contortions is the number of people employed to unwind it – if the law was easy
By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Feb 5, 2018 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Despite a one time write down of $9 million due to tax reform, Brookline Bank’a parent company reported strong earnings as the company continues to shrink its volatile taxi medallion portfolio.
By Laura Alix | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Jan 24, 2016 | Reprints | Unlock Link
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston is working to raise awareness of a $15 million subsidy program it’s launching next week, aimed at stimulating job growth and economic activity throughout New England. The Boston FHLB’s Jobs for New England is one of two programs intended to pump money into job creation and affordable housing
Dec 4, 2014 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Offering principal reductions to delinquent borrowers could cost banks up to $89 billion in write-downs, according to a new report from the data and analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services.
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | Sep 14, 2014 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Congress is back from its summer vacation, so the burning financial question on thousands of homeowners’ minds right now is this: Are you guys finally going to help out consumers who are underwater on their mortgages, many of whom face crushing federal tax bills if they accept – or have already accepted – principal reductions by their lenders?
Feb 21, 2014 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Fannie Mae said on Friday it would soon send the U.S. Treasury $7.2 billion, a profit-related dividend that makes taxpayers whole for the 2008 bailout of the mortgage-financing giant and its sibling company Freddie Mac.
May 22, 2013 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Massachusetts homeowners have received more than $637 million in total consumer relief during the first full year since the National Mortgage Settlement, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office.
May 9, 2013 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage finance company, on Thursday said it will pay $59.4 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury after a record profit in the first quarter that reflected a multibillion dollar tax-related gain.
By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist | Nov 11, 2012 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Are we doomed to four more years of slow-motion foreclosures that wreck neighborhoods and destabilize home prices? Or will President Barack Obama finally tackle the housing mess head-on now that he has won a second term?
Oct 16, 2012 | Reprints | Unlock Link
Vikram Pandit abruptly stepped down as CEO of Citigroup on Tuesday, surprising Wall Street, after steering the bank through 2008 financial crisis and the choppy years that followed.
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | Sep 2, 2012 | Reprints | Unlock Link
If you’re underwater and facing financial distress, what might Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new short sale reform policies mean for you? Potentially a lot – even if you are current on your mortgage payments and never imagined that a short sale and principal reduction could be in the cards.
