ShoreBank Blog
The ShoreBank Blog is your place to find ShoreBank news, new product information, and our insight into the banking world.
Archive for September, 2008
Friday, September 26th, 2008
Since I last posted on this blog, the financial markets have continued to boil over with uncertainty over the evolving mortgage crisis. Average consumers are confused about whether their money is safe and how to know if their financial institution is safe. Despite the uncertainty in the overall market, ShoreBank is profitable, strong and growing. ShoreBank is well capitalized and a careful manager of its loan portfolios. Your deposit in ShoreBank is safe, secure and earning a market rate of interest.
The highest priority for ShoreBank is investing in local residents and their communities. We make loans that borrowers can afford that help them buy and rehab homes, apartment buildings and run businesses. ShoreBank has not engaged in predatory lending and has not invested in the so called “toxic” investments that are causing so much concern.
ShoreBank is currently focused on making Rescue Mortgages that refinance individuals that are trapped in predatory mortgage loans. We have found that many good hard working people who got caught in adjustable rate mortgages can lower their monthly payments with a ShoreBank 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Deposits like the High Yield Savings Account at ShoreBank help us to continue our lending. We thank you for being our customer and promise to continue to be a good steward of your deposits.
Tags: community development, FDIC, green banking, high yield savings, Rescue Loan program, ShoreBank, triple bottom line
Posted in Banking Industry | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
At a recent conference on green building and investing, a number of important critical trends were highlighted for the burgeoning green building industry. Put on by Infocast, the conference was one of the better gatherings I’ve attended on the subject.
One interesting session focused on the increasing complexity of green leases. A particularly salient discussion explored whether tenants should be eligible for rent reductions, or even lease nullification, should the building not achieve a LEED rating. Another interesting facet centered on roof rights and whether tenants deserved some say over where HVAC units were placed, since poor planning could limit or even eliminate future solar options – indeed, this issue is one ShoreBank has faced as we have sought to add on-site energy generation on our leased facilities.
Other topics that received considerable attention were the operational issues facing green buildings given findings from a new study funded by the USGBC that documented how often green buildings failed to achieve the energy performance predicted by pre-construction energy modeling. Among the recommendations was a need for greater training among building engineers, and perhaps, greater reliance on technology and outsourced building managers. It is a problem particularly for our non-profit customers since these organizations’ portfolios contain both the most out-dated, and the most technologically sophisticated, buildings. Having staff who are able to run both on a shoe-string budget is a lot to expect.
Finally, the conference included a fantastic session on appraisal issues facing green buildings. The most interesting comment was that investors, and increasingly banks too, now believe green buildings have less chance of obselescance than other buildings – especially as carbon markets and caps become more and more likely in coming years. This belief is beginning to influence valuations and the underwriting of these projects.
Tags: community development, energy conservation loans, green banking, green building, ShoreBank, triple bottom line
Posted in Green Collar | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
Hello! I welcomed you to the ShoreBank blog a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to check back in. I do a lot of work with consumer savings products and sustainable personal finance is an idea that comes up regularly. I wanted to take some time and dive into this topic today.
It has been amazing to watch the explosion of “sustainable” options in our daily lives. Organic food is a great example. Organic food once was a niche product … hard to find, sold in out of the way locations and not aimed at the general population. That’s no longer the case. These days, organics are widely available, and a much wider range of people are buying them. (I can even get organic versions of foods I never knew existed!) Not everything I buy is organic but I like to have choices and I like to know what the choices mean.
“Sustainable” options are also available in the broad category of personal finance. The choices often start with how people spend their money – before they even pick a savings vehicle. Certainly where you live, how you commute and what you eat are all part of the bigger financial picture. With any luck, however, after these choices there is some money to be saved.
Your money can work for you both financially and in support of sustainable initiatives. This brings us to the issue of asset classes – how much of your savings should be in cash or stocks or bonds or other assets. There has long been a Socially Responsible Investing industry, particularly with regard to stocks. They can include (or exclude) companies based on specific screening criteria like industry or employee practices.
Some portion of your money, however, will likely be in a form of cash. These products, like checking accounts, savings accounts and CDs, are found at banks and related financial institutions…but sustainable banking products do not seem to get much media coverage.
There are many ways to think about sustainability within the banking industry. The biggest one is to look at what the bank does with your deposit. Banks use deposits to fund their loan portfolios. So if your bank is making loans to companies that are local then your money is funding the local economy. If they are making loans to shoe manufacturers then you are supporting that industry.
Other areas to look at are the bank’s internal practices and the options they give you as the customer. For example, do they offer paperless accounts? Do they have a clear policy regarding internal energy use? Do they support “green” building practices?
ShoreBank is a community development and environmental bank – we track our loan portfolio against these two primary areas of focus. And we are working to make our operations more sustainable. (In fact we just opened a new office and incorporated many green features – I will share more on that in a future posting.)
We are working hard to provide you with options in sustainable personal finance – we look forward to continuing to innovate and to sharing our experiences along the way.
And if you are interested in banking with us the quickest way is to open our online High-Yield Savings Account at (it has a 3.50% APY* with a $1 minimum).
*The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is effective as of June 4, 2008, and is subject to change without notice. APY is valid only with a ShoreBank online high-yield savings account. Fees could reduce earnings on the account. A minimum balance of $1.00 is required to open the account and obtain the stated APY.
Tags: community development, environmental sustainability, green banking, ShoreBank Direct, socially responsible investing, triple bottom line
Posted in Green Collar | 1 Comment »
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Hello, I am Jean Pogge, the Director of the Consumer and Community Bank at ShoreBank. For many years, I have been fortunate to work with customers and colleagues who understand the importance of socially responsible investing. SRI investors want to make sure their investments and their banking are in line with their values.
Socially responsible investors have been particularly important to ShoreBank. As a community development and conservation bank, we are very active lenders. Critical to our ability to continue to make loans is our ability to raise deposits. Socially responsible or mission based depositors have been drawn to banking with ShoreBank by the simple proposition that deposits in ShoreBank are the fuel for the exceptional community development and conservation lending we do in underinvested minority communities.
Deposits in ShoreBank offer amazing value. They are FDIC insured just like other banks; they pay market rates of interest like other High Yield Savings Accounts; and each customer gets the satisfaction of knowing that their money is being used to rebuild communities and create a healthier environment.
I look forward to our conversations over the coming weeks as we explore socially responsible investing and the way you can use your bank accounts to help change the world.
Tags: community development, FDIC, green banking, high yield savings, ShoreBank Direct, socially responsible investing, triple bottom line
Posted in Banking Industry | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
During the past year, ShoreBank has been involved in a number of discussions about residential energy efficiency. Indeed, it is a key element of most climate plans due to the fact that homes represent upwards of 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in most large cities.
One of the most interesting aspects of the dialogue is the difference of opinion about whether homeowners are making rational or irrational economic choices when they select inefficient homes.
For some, the inefficient homes and offices in America reflect conscious choices by consumers about the inadequate pay-backs from investments in energy efficiency or alternative energy. I respectfully disagree, instead believing that consumers rarely have the relevant information to make informed choices or the ability to choose since so many of the decisions in rehab projects are influenced by contractor/architect knowledge, opinions, and proclivities.
In addition, I feel the decisions are reflective of human psychology and the fact that we generally fear loss more than value potential gain. Thus, consumers are troubled by having to bet on expected future savings given the known and real upfront costs, irrespective of the projected ROI on these investments. It is one reason for the emotional appeal of the performance contracting model – a guarantee of future savings by a third party coupled with no upfront cost to the consumer. I also see traces of the human tendency to discount the potential for future price increases over potential price reductions, despite mounting evidence that cheap power is not coming back any time soon. We simply fear spending money to protect us from potential future shocks that may not occur more than we fear being unable to afford our utility bills in the future, even if we see the increases as inevitable.
These beliefs form the lynchpin of ShoreBank’s approach to sustainability. Underlying our efforts is the belief that all people, regardless of income or upbringing, care deeply about elements of sustainability since sustainability touches such fundamental aspects of our lives. In essence, sustainability is about household economics, job security, health, well being, and our community. The reason that more people are not choosing more sustainable lifestyles, in part, reflects our society’s failings in helping individuals make informed choices, in presenting easy to understand and easy to implement changes, and in crafting clear, targeted messages.
Tags: community development, environmental sustainability, green banking, green building, ShoreBank, triple bottom line
Posted in Green Collar | No Comments »
Friday, September 5th, 2008
Hi, I’m ShoreBank Economist David Oser. In this blog, we’ll be talking every couple of weeks about high finance and low finance. We’ll poke through mounds of dreary economic statistics for glittering nuggets of real information. We’ll visit Wall Street, be the proverbial fly on the wall in corporate board rooms, and, sometimes, stroll down the Main Street in good old Anytown USA.
I’ve been saying “we,” because I hope this blog will become a dialogue with you, dear Readers. I suppose I like talking to myself as much as the next man, but this blo
g space will be a lot more fun (for me, anyway) with a bit of lively repartee. No topics are off-limits, as long as they have at least some tentative connection to economics or finance.
Let’s jump right in with a quick look at personal income and spending. The Bureau of Economic Analysis says that Americans’ personal income was $90 billion less in July than it was in June. A big reason is that the tax rebate train has left the station. The Government doled out $2 billion in April, $48 billion in May, $28 billion in June, and $14 billion in July. That’s $92 billion in all, but that was then. Now we’re back to living on our paychecks again, or, for 3.4 million Americans, unemployment checks.
You may have wondered just how the average family—you know, the one with 2.1 kids and three-quarters of a dog—divides its income. Well, we spend about 10% on what the Government calls “durable goods,” things meant to last three years or more like cars, sofas, and stoves. We spend 30% on non-durables, with about half of that going to food. Most of the rest pays for services, with housing (15%) and medical care (17%) absorbing the majority.
We spend a lot on gasoline too, but maybe not as much as you think. In July, we pumped 4.5% of our income, $51 billion, into our gas tanks. That percentage is more than twice what it was a few years ago, but still below the peak of 5.3% reached in the energy crisis days of the 1970s and ‘80s. And speaking of small favors, the average price of a gallon of regular slumped to $3.90 on July 31 from $4.11 on the 15th. I know it’s hard to remember back that far, but the gallon price broke through $3.50 for the first time ever way back in April of ’08.
Who knows, maybe those glory days will come back.
Tags: community development, economic predictors, financial crisis, green banking, ShoreBank, triple bottom line
Posted in Banking Industry | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Welcome to the ShoreBank blog!
In case you don’t know about us, ShoreBank is a bank—but not your typical bank. We have spent decades supporting economic development and environmental sustainability, and we have done it profitably. We measure our results based on a triple-bottom-line approach (people, planet, and profits). Now, we’re creating a forum to discuss topics like our work, trends in the market, and ways that everyone can improve their finances while supporting the community. We want to hear from you!
Why should you read this blog? Fair question. Like you, we’re busy. We had to decide if it made sense to write a blog. But we really didn’t see anyone out there with our perspective. We have a 35-year history of leveraging banking tools to benefit local businesses, homeowners, and the environment. As the field of sustainable business keeps growing, we hope that our history and the work we continue to do will inspire others to bring even more innovation and success to these arenas – and keep us on our toes, as well!
As you read our blog, you will hear from a range of ShoreBank experts on topics like green building, home mortgages, and financing for nonprofits. We even have views on the Fed. In addition to big-picture information about finance, environment, and community, we will offer ideas about how to manage your personal finances.
We also offer a global perspective, because we’re not just a U.S.-based bank with over $2 billion in assets. Around the world, affiliated organizations in our holding company are active in areas like global microfinance, the environmental and economic challenges of rural areas, and finding innovative ways to meet the needs of those without access to traditional banking services.
We have numerous stories and ideas we would like to share—and we want to hear your views. Like many of you, we are working to create opportunities for ordinary people to better their own lives, strengthen their communities, and create a healthier environment.
So let’s get writing, and let’s get to work!
Tags: community development, green banking, ShoreBank, ShoreBank Direct, social media, triple bottom line
Posted in Banking Industry | 2 Comments »
ShoreBank is currently focused on making Rescue Mortgages that refinance individuals that are trapped in predatory mortgage loans. We have found that many good hard working people who got caught in adjustable rate mortgages can lower their monthly payments with a ShoreBank 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Deposits like the High Yield Savings Account at ShoreBank help us to continue our lending. We thank you for being our customer and promise to continue to be a good steward of your deposits.
