Publications & Resources

August/September 2007
Focus: Technology

Excellence is Spelled VIP

By Anne K. Scully, President, WIB Service Corporation

“No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation” ~ Horace (Roman Poet, 65 BC-8BD)

As Horace so aptly described it in our quote, the quest for excellence is often long, painstaking and arduous. But we, too, at the WIB Service Corporation, have adopted the same philosophy in our search for our “Value & Income Program” (VIP) Partners. Why? Beyond the fact that “excellence” is one of WIB’s core values, by engaging in thorough research and review, we are better able to identify and endorse the most excellent – the designated “best in breed” – providers of products and services for our members. When we have done that, we have succeeded in bringing the value-added promised to community banks as part of their WIB membership. That is an end result worthy of the process.

SecureWorks – Best-In-Breed in More Ways than Ever

WIB-endorsed VIP SecureWorks has won SC Magazine’s 2007 Reader Trust Award for 2007 for “Best Managed Security Services Provider” for the second year in a row. SecureWorks’ Managed Security Services prevailed over those from Alert Logic, IBM Internet Security Systems, MX Logic and Watchfire.

But SecureWorks’ awards are backed by performance – much to the delight of its nearly 1,000 community bank clients and the dismay of hackers. Recently, SecureWorks’ researchers discovered several caches of stolen data containing the personal and financial information of 10,000 corporate and home PC users, as well as new variants of the Prg trojan. The caches contained bank and credit union, credit card and Social Security numbers, usernames and passwords. According to SecureWorks, the trojan’s variants have the ability to lift sensitive data from PCs before that data is encrypted and sent to SSL-protected sites.

Earlier this year, SecureWorks discovered and took down several phishing schemes which were using the dual authentication signup process to lure banking and credit union customers to bogus phishing websites.

For more information on SecureWorks, contact Don Sumner at dsumner@secureworks.com or (404) 486-4444.

“Investing in SecureWorks is the best thing the bank has done. They are proactive with updates. Their system is very interactive. Their webinars are available each month and based upon your level of understanding you can get training during any month, or you can call them directly to request something specific. I would recommend SecureWorks to other banks without hesitation.” ~ Troy Marsh, IT Manager, Central Bank (UT)

SBA Lenders Look to VIP Kesler Associates for Their Insurance Tracking & Coverage Needs

Community bank SBA lenders face the ongoing challenge to ensure their borrowers have not only obtained insurance coverage but also continue to maintain insurance for the life of the loan. It sounds simple, but your borrower’s concerns with growing a business and cash flow may supercede his or her insurance obligations. For the bank, the consequences can be significant: Should your borrower fail to maintain enough insurance or – worse yet – allow insurance to lapse, your bank could lose part or all of the SBA guaranty tied to that loan.

There is no alternative to constant monitoring. Your bank can track the collateral itself, but why not outsource that function and the insurance follow-up responsibilities – and liability – to a professional, such as WIB-endorsed VIP Kesler Associates (KA)?

KA provides outsourced tracking of your bank's loan portfolio to identify uninsured collateral as well as a full array of insurance products to cover uninsured risks. Kesler can design a program to meet the needs of any bank, from simple monitoring for insurance coverage to a program which tracks and force places insurance for all collateralized loans.

KA’s services are especially beneficial to SBA lenders. They provide a comprehensive program for tracking of both residential and commercial real estate, and can place forced order hazard insurance if requested.

Kesler Associates also provides a flood determination and tracking service that is available either as a stand-alone service or may be incorporated into the Real Estate Forced Order Hazard program. Your bank has the option of obtaining flood determinations that are either "snap-shot" or for the entire term of the loan. KA can track your bank’s entire real estate loan portfolio to ensure that proper flood insurance is in place for those properties deemed to be in a designated flood plain as well as issue flood insurance for those loans where there are lapses in coverage.

“Kesler Associates’ reporting is up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate. Their customer service is excellent: They respond to our phone calls or emails promptly. Their account representative also comes to the bank on a monthly basis to answer any questions and ensure everything is going well.” ~ Linda Nisnisan, Loan Services Manager, Community Bank of San Joaquin (CA)

KA’s Collateral Protection Insurance program offers community banks the ability to customize their coverages. Your bank may also have customized reports and notices to meet your specific needs.

KA can also assist community bank lenders the rest of their loan portfolio – including vehicle, boat, residential real estate and equipment loans, by utilizing a sophisticated, yet flexible, tracking system.

For more information on Kesler Associates, contact Kurt Kesler at kkesler@keslerbanking.com or 800.542.7900.

MoneyPass® Differentiates Itself Over Other Surcharge-Free ATM Networks

If you think that all surcharge-free ATM networks are created equal, think again. WIB-endorsed VIP MoneyPass® provides features which are more attractive to community banks and their customers than other available options.

Nearly 70 percent of the MoneyPass® ATMs are Financial Institution owned and attached, making them more reliable and secure for your bank’s customers. Other ATM networks provide only ATMs that are located only in “off-premises” retail locations.

MoneyPass®’ ATMs are driven by Élan/ Genpass, with high standards for “up time” and accuracy requirements on the MoneyPass® Internet locator service. Other ATM networks utilize multiple processors, each with their own individual standard for performance.

The MoneyPass® Network is an “open” versus “closed” network. Any community bank can join with absolutely NO strings attached – it doesn’t matter who does your bank’s EFT or core processing.

MoneyPass® offsets participating banks’ declining surcharge revenues through increased transaction volume (typically a 2x-3x lift) and through premium interchange revenue. Other ATM networks permit participating banks to retain their surcharge revenue; however, standard industry interchange is provided.

MoneyPass® can quickly provide can quickly provide your bank a proforma which analyzes the revenues/ costs associated with participation in its surcharge-free ATM network. For more information on Moneypass, contact Carol Self at Carol.self@elanfs.com or 503-635-0848.

VIP Inmatrix Releases Updated Credit Risk Management “Optimist 7.3” Software

Optimist is an internal credit risk management solution and a front-end relationship management tool which arms commercial bankers with vital financial analysis, diagnostic and communication tools to build, manage, and sustain profitable commercial loan portfolios.

The next generation of Optimist offers increased flexibility, efficiency, and the capacity to integrate with any ratings tool.

Using Optimist, you can:

Meet the requirements of CRE regulations: Optimist 7.3 worksheets enable your bank to engage in focused analysis of construction projects, income-producing property and property developments. All worksheets are integrated within Optimist reports, and can be included in credit approval documentation.

Customize your credit write ups: Optimist 7.3 provides flexibility to create, manage and edit loan approval documents - offering unlimited potential to custom-create reports. Customized ‘templates’ can be built within Microsoft Word and Excel programs, with the data linked directly to Optimist models. These templates are then integrated with your bank’s credit workflow and processes.

Access Standard & Poor’s Integrated Credit Risk Assessment: Using Standard & Poor’s CRT, Optimist 7.3 can provide a:

Risk Rating and Probability of Default (PD) on a one-page scorecard;
graphic representation of a customer’s trend for Probability of Default over the last four years; and
formal credit report detailing the customer’s business performance and credit risk.

By maintaining all relevant financial and nonfinancial obligor information within one central database, users have instant access to information by customer, or on a deal by deal basis. Optimist provides greater consistency in forms, templates and access to data.