This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

According to the Washington Post , "A fired Fannie Mae contract worker pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges he planted a virus designed to destroy all the data on the mortgage giant's 4,000 computer servers nationwide, according to federal prosecutors. If the virus had been released as planned on Saturday, the Justice Department said the disruption could have cost millions of dollars and shut down operations for a week at the largest U.S. mortgage finance company. Rajendrasinh B. Makwana, 35, of Glen Allen, Va., pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to one count of computer intrusion, the U.S. attorney's office said."

Asian Banks $936 (0.48%) Cathay General Bancorp $258 Center Financial Corp $55 East West Bancorp Inc $306 Pacific City Financial Corp. $16 Saigon National $2 UCBH Holdings Inc $299 Black Banks $40 (0.02%) Broadway Financial Corp. $9 Carver Bancorp, Inc $19 OneUnited Bank $12 Hispanic Banks $1,551 (0.80%) First Bancorp $400 International Bancshares Corp $216 Popular Inc $935 Grand Total $2,527 (1.30%) Total to all banks $193,793 Amounts in millions US $ Percentage of total to all banks in parentheses As of 1/23/09

Please see: http://www.blackenterprise.com/business/business-news/2008/12/23/executives-working-to-create-black-owned-holding-company/

SENATE COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL CONCERNS MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 9, 2006 [These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a meeting of a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate; none of the comments, conclusions or actions reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate, the Administration or the Board of Regents.] PRESENT: Mani Subramani, chair, Joseph Marchesani, Jennifer Oliphant, Peter Hiniker, Brandi Hoffman, Richard Lidstad, Elizabeth Richardson, Benton Schnabel, Julia Washenberger, Carolyn Chalmers, Greg Schooler, Kenneth Heller, Catherine Jordan, Mira Reinberg REGRETS: Todd Tratz, Amelious Whyte, Katherine Fennelly, David Fox, Ajay Skaria, David Gysbers ABSENT: Craig Hassel GUESTS: Professor Norman Bowie, Carlson School of Management; Bill Cunningham, social investment advisor, Creative Investment Research; Stuart Mason, chief investment officer, Office of Asset Management I). Professor Subramani called the meeting to order, welcomed t...

According to the Washington Post, "The investors who control Abigail Adams National Bancorp, the parent company of the troubled Adams National Bank, have decided to merge it with a West Virginia bank that they also control in a deal designed to ensure Adams National can weather the financial crisis. Premier Financial Bancorp will buy District-based Abigail Adams for stock valued at $10.9 million, the companies said yesterday. The largest shareholder in both companies is West Virginia businessman Marshall Reynolds, who specializes in buying troubled banks. Adams National is the third local bank to agree to be sold in two months, following the purchase of Chevy Chase by Capital One Financial and the Provident Bank's purchase by M&T Bank. Charlotte-based Wachovia, a dominant local presence, is in the process of being sold to Wells Fargo. The deal means the end of a local bank founded in 1978 as Women's National Bank, an institution mostly owned and run by women that focus...

Advisor Perspectives Magazine interviewed John Bogle about prospects for 2009. Bogle, 79, "is the Founder of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and President of Vanguard’s Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. He created Vanguard in 1974 and served as Chairman and CEO until 1996 and Senior Chairman until 2000." A sample: "Q - What worries you the most about the economy and the markets? A- My number one concern is the freezing of the credit markets, but I am equally concerned with the slapdash way the Treasury is trying to fix the problem. The troubled asset relief program (TARP) should have been called the toxic asset relief program, but they have yet to buy a single asset. They are injecting capital into banks, but are doing so at a very high price. Q - Your book discusses the characteristics of good leadership: nurturing the 'soul' of the organization, focusing on values, and 'pressing on, regardless.' Which leadership skills will be most important for Pres...

We note that, according to a recent article in Black Enterprise Magazine , "Through Urban Trust Bank (a black-owned bank), (Robert) Johnson created a new entity, Homeowners First Bank. Homeowners First is an advanced lending facility or a bank designed specifically to provide temporary, advance funding to mortgage servicers. Mortgage servicers are the middlemen, who may or may not be the same company as the lender, but who retrieve money from borrowers on behalf of lenders." We feel this effort may be an attempt to profit, as the Washington Post noted , from the "unprecedented wave of foreclosures, charging distressed homeowners for help negotiating better loan terms -- a service provided for free or for a nominal fee by many nonprofits." We should remember that Mr. Johnson has a history of not living up to promises made to the black community. Since it is irrelevant to the current discussion, we will ignore historical charges against the man , and focus on the bank...