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Ah Friday! - 10-01-09
To: Our Valued Clients
From: Malcolm Hotchkiss
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ah, Friday! This used to be one of the best days of the
week. We would plan dinner and a movie
with that special someone. A time for
families to come together, grandchildren would visit, or we would take that
special day trip.
To us in the banking world Fridays
have become significant in other ways. Friday
is now the day that we look to see who of our banking brethren have failed and have
been taken over by the regulators and the FDIC. So far this year, the FDIC has resolved (their word) over 94 large, regional, and
community banks and thrifts. And, if
that is not enough to sober you, the FDIC reports that they have an additional
200+ on their troubled (again their word)
list of banks yet to be resolved. United
Labor Bank is NOT one of those
banks.
These staggering numbers do not
make me feel comfy that the recession is over and has given validation to some
economist’s theory that this cycle will not be a “V” but a “W” with two low
points. Some believe that we are
entering the second trough. There are
other strong indicators to support this theory: housing values are still
declining, unemployment has not rebounded, and retail sales are still weak. As a point in fact, I noticed in San Francisco this week
that the City is putting up Christmas decorations at the end of September at
the request of the retail merchants.
They are in hopes of getting people to open their pocket books early. So we are now extending the holiday season by
60 days?
I still believe that this is not
a time for irrational exuberance, but a time to remain calm and conservative
with our financial dealings. We must
remember that there is a lagging effect to changes in the economic environment.
We believe that we could continue with
the current weak economy for another 18 months.
At United Labor Bank we continue to be
profitable, strong, and safe - but we also have tighten our belts during this
economic cycle. Our commitment to you is
that we will stay the course of being conservative and the safe depository for
your funds. We continue to be a strong,
safe, and well capitalized bank serving your banking needs.
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