Post by Okwes on May 22, 2008 12:07:16 GMT -5
Native American Bank silent on details of apparent shakeup
www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/news/state/36-bank.tx\
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<http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/news/state/36-bank.t\
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Who's in charge of the bank?
Native American Bank board leaders have yet to announce why the national
bank's president was placed on administrative leave more than two weeks
ago.
As of Thursday, J.D. Colbert had not been notified on whether he still
has a job as bank president after being dismissed from his duties April
30.
Cristina Danforth, the bank's holding company board president, said a
statement intended to be released May 16 was "still in development." As
of Thursday, it wasn't complete. Danforth has not returned phone
calls.
Lynn Dee Rapp, an NAB depositor, questioned the management shakeup and,
like many, still does not know what is happening in the bank.
"I'm waiting for the statement to decide whether or not to include them
in our marketing endeavors," said Rapp, president of WaSioux Inc., a
gaming device development company in Buffalo Gap, S.D. "We don't know
who's running it. We have no idea. They are on hold until we have more
information."
Meanwhile, Colbert's photos and biographical information have been
removed from the bank's Web site at www.nabna.com.
Elouise Cobell, the operating board's executive committee member, said
the bank remains one of the most profitable in the country.
The NAB posted a net income of $1.4 million in 2007. The bank's return
on average assets, or profitability, was rated at 1.54 percent compared
to bank peer group ratings of 0.94 percent, according to the company's
2007 fourth-quarter report. The bank's assets reached $99 million, a 20
percent increase compared to 2006.
Office of Comptroller of the Currency bank examiners arrived at the bank
the week of April 14 for a scheduled audit. Colbert was placed on leave
April 30.
Kevin Mukri, a spokesman for the OCC, has said if the bank audit
warrants attention, it will be posted on the OCC Web site. The OCC had
not posted any enforcement actions against the NAB as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, Colbert's personal assistant, Holly Jamison, has been hired
to work for the OCC, the federal agency that regulates 1,700 national
banks.
"It is highly suspicious and indicates there may have been some type of
plan to undermine J.D.," Rapp said.
Don McLean, the NAB interim president, will not comment on changes
within the bank.
The NAB, created in 2001, is owned by 26 federally recognized tribes and
tribal organizations across the United States. The bank promotes
economic development in Indian communities, which have been historically
underserved by mainstream banks. More than 85 percent of the bank's
loans are made to Indians, including commercial, home mortgages, real
estate and consumer loans.
The bank has been a gathering point for a growing number of Indian-owned
businesses, Rapp said. She questions the actions of the NAB executive
committee. Two of the three members oversee other banks. Lewis Anderson
is president and CEO of Woodlands National Bank. And William Snider is
vice chairman and CFO for United Western Bancorp, based in Denver.
Snider and Anderson are non-Indian as is McLean, the interim president,
and Tracie Davis, the former CFO who was brought back to the bank under
a 90-day contract.
Rapp said her company doesn't like to operate in the dark.
"As a depositor, it's my inclination to take my money and move it to a
more congenial place," she said. "I put it there because it was
Native-owned. Unless there is Native management and unless there are
some really justifiable reasons for what has happened, I'll have to go
on record for moving my money elsewhere."
www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/news/state/36-bank.tx\
t
<http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/18/news/state/36-bank.t\
xt>
Who's in charge of the bank?
Native American Bank board leaders have yet to announce why the national
bank's president was placed on administrative leave more than two weeks
ago.
As of Thursday, J.D. Colbert had not been notified on whether he still
has a job as bank president after being dismissed from his duties April
30.
Cristina Danforth, the bank's holding company board president, said a
statement intended to be released May 16 was "still in development." As
of Thursday, it wasn't complete. Danforth has not returned phone
calls.
Lynn Dee Rapp, an NAB depositor, questioned the management shakeup and,
like many, still does not know what is happening in the bank.
"I'm waiting for the statement to decide whether or not to include them
in our marketing endeavors," said Rapp, president of WaSioux Inc., a
gaming device development company in Buffalo Gap, S.D. "We don't know
who's running it. We have no idea. They are on hold until we have more
information."
Meanwhile, Colbert's photos and biographical information have been
removed from the bank's Web site at www.nabna.com.
Elouise Cobell, the operating board's executive committee member, said
the bank remains one of the most profitable in the country.
The NAB posted a net income of $1.4 million in 2007. The bank's return
on average assets, or profitability, was rated at 1.54 percent compared
to bank peer group ratings of 0.94 percent, according to the company's
2007 fourth-quarter report. The bank's assets reached $99 million, a 20
percent increase compared to 2006.
Office of Comptroller of the Currency bank examiners arrived at the bank
the week of April 14 for a scheduled audit. Colbert was placed on leave
April 30.
Kevin Mukri, a spokesman for the OCC, has said if the bank audit
warrants attention, it will be posted on the OCC Web site. The OCC had
not posted any enforcement actions against the NAB as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, Colbert's personal assistant, Holly Jamison, has been hired
to work for the OCC, the federal agency that regulates 1,700 national
banks.
"It is highly suspicious and indicates there may have been some type of
plan to undermine J.D.," Rapp said.
Don McLean, the NAB interim president, will not comment on changes
within the bank.
The NAB, created in 2001, is owned by 26 federally recognized tribes and
tribal organizations across the United States. The bank promotes
economic development in Indian communities, which have been historically
underserved by mainstream banks. More than 85 percent of the bank's
loans are made to Indians, including commercial, home mortgages, real
estate and consumer loans.
The bank has been a gathering point for a growing number of Indian-owned
businesses, Rapp said. She questions the actions of the NAB executive
committee. Two of the three members oversee other banks. Lewis Anderson
is president and CEO of Woodlands National Bank. And William Snider is
vice chairman and CFO for United Western Bancorp, based in Denver.
Snider and Anderson are non-Indian as is McLean, the interim president,
and Tracie Davis, the former CFO who was brought back to the bank under
a 90-day contract.
Rapp said her company doesn't like to operate in the dark.
"As a depositor, it's my inclination to take my money and move it to a
more congenial place," she said. "I put it there because it was
Native-owned. Unless there is Native management and unless there are
some really justifiable reasons for what has happened, I'll have to go
on record for moving my money elsewhere."