Wilmington Trust

Who killed the banks? And why aren't they in prison? It's past three years since Wachovia, National City , and other giant lenders that made too many dumb loans to borrowers who couldn't pay were forced into oblivion in government-aided discount sales to new owners, destroying share values and hometown jobs. Last time banks failed on a big scale - back when George H.W. Bush   was president - scores of bad-bank operators and lying business borrowers went to prison. That hasn't happened much under President Obama , whose administration prefers fines and wrist-slapping.

Federal bank regulators have tightened their oversight of Wilmington Trust Corp., hard hit by bad investments and soured loans to homebuilders, but they did not force it to raise capital, the Wilmington lender said. Wilmington Trust said Monday that it planned to sell $250 million in common stock to strengthen its balance sheet and possibly redeem preferred shares held by the U.S. Treasury. The bank's agreement with regulators, mentioned in its annual report on form 10-K, requires the bank to improve its loan-review process and risk management, tend to current and future capital requirements, and refrain from taking on debt with a maturity of more than one year without approval from regulators.

Wilmington Trust Co., known as the DuPont family bank, is a step closer to acquiring a second Chester County bank and a bigger share of the Chester County market. Wilmington Trust created a controversy early in 1992 when Sarah W. Hargrove, the state banking secretary, used her discretionary powers to approve the trust company's bid to take over the failed Bank of the Brandywine Valley in West Chester from the FDIC. Now Wilmington Trust is planning to expand in the county through an $11.6 million acquisition of Freedom Valley Bank of West Chester by a Pennsylvania subsidiary.

Tom Morello, raised in a Mayfair rowhouse as the son of a Philadelphia Naval Shipyard worker, made loads of money in Jersey Shore real estate. And like entrepreneurs everywhere, he is always open to chances to make more. So Morello was intrigued when his Wilmington Trust Corp. adviser suggested an investment in a thoroughbred racehorse business in Kentucky that promised high returns and tax breaks to boot. What's more, Wilmington Trust was willing to lend him the money to get started.

WILMINGTON - Wilmington Trust posted a wider second-quarter loss Friday, as the regional bank set aside far more money to brace for souring loans. The provision for loan losses in the latest quarter rose to $205.2 million as a result of higher non-performing loans, loan charge-offs, and loans with unfavorable risk ratings. Company shares slid 5 percent. Wilmington Trust said the higher loan losses were driven by weakened financial condition of borrowers, "especially in southern Delaware, where signs of economic recovery remain tentative.

Wilmington Trust Co. reported that growth in loans and other assets, plus higher income from trust and investment management fees, produced record profits in the fourth quarter and full year of 1985. Net income in the fourth quarter was $7.7 million or 89 cents a share, up from $6.1 million or 72 cents a share in the same period of 1984, the company said in a release on Thursday. Profits for the year were $27 million or $3.15 a share, up from $21.5 million or $2.56 a share in 1984.

Wilmington Trust Corp., founded by du Pont family members in 1903 and profitable every year until 2008, is selling out at a fire-sale price to M&T Bank Corp., headquartered in Buffalo, because of crippling losses on construction loans for southern Delaware retirement communities. In a deal announced Monday, M&T Bank agreed to pay $351 million - just $3.84 per share - in stock for the Delaware powerhouse, which was worth $2.6 billion three years ago. Not included in the price was M&T's assumption of the $330 million Wilmington Trust still owes the federal government from the 2008 bank bailout.

Wilmington Trust Co., the biggest independent banking company in Delaware, announced yesterday that it had made an offer to acquire Delaware Trust Co., the state's third-largest bank. Wilmington Trust, with $2.65 billion in assets, has offered to exchange between 28 and 30 shares of Wilmington Trust stock for every share of Delaware Trust stock. Based on Wilmington Trust's closing price of $29.25 yesterday, the acquisition offer for the estimated 206,000 shares outstanding would be worth about $180.

Delaware's political unrest, which brought reporters flocking to Wilmington for the Election Day test between angry Republican conservatives and frantic allies of President Obama , follows job-destroying business upheavals that have unwound the tight social and economic consensus in what consumer activist Ralph Nader used to call the "Corporate State. " The latest came Monday, the eve of Election Day, with the deep-discount sale of Delaware's dominant bank, money-losing Wilmington Trust Corp.

Shares in Wilmington Trust Corp. fell nearly 21 percent yesterday after the bank, a major business lender in the Philadelphia region, warned of weak second-quarter results because of loan and investment losses. Wilmington Trust's announcement came the same day two banking giants, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., buoyed by asset sales, posted bigger-than-expected profits - but they also revealed mounting problems in their business and consumer loan portfolios. Citigroup added $3.9 billion to its loan-loss reserves, bringing them to 5.6 percent of total loans, according to Standard & Poor's Credit Rating Services.

Who killed the banks? And why aren't they in prison? It's past three years since Wachovia, National City , and other giant lenders that made too many dumb loans to borrowers who couldn't pay were forced into oblivion in government-aided discount sales to new owners, destroying share values and hometown jobs. Last time banks failed on a big scale - back when George H.W. Bush   was president - scores of bad-bank operators and lying business borrowers went to prison. That hasn't happened much under President Obama , whose administration prefers fines and wrist-slapping.

Meridian Bank , of Devon, hired T. Benjamin Marsho as senior vice president of finance. Marsho had managed loan and investment accounting for ING Direct in Wilmington. National Penn Bancshares Inc. , of Boyertown, Pa., announced the following hires: Mark R. Mershon was named executive vice president and corporate treasurer. Mershon had been vice president and treasurer for United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga. Linda J. La Vay was named senior vice president and senior relationship manager at the National Penn Investors Trust Co. She had been suburban Philadelphia-area manager for the Wachovia/Wells Fargo Investment Management and Trust Division.

I think all of us would love to see a blowout month for job creation one of these first Fridays - like this one - when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its widely watched employment report. The consensus forecast among economists before this Friday's report was the U.S. economy added 185,000 jobs in March. And that's what many of the various surveys that track employment are saying - things are slowly improving. On Thursday, Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group issued its semiannual economic outlook for small and midsize business owners that suggests "cautious optimism" is replacing "fear of falling sales.

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. - The sign for the Heritage Commercial Center in Bridgeville is blank except for a number to call about leasing one of six empty parcels. The proposed center was meant to draw residents of the 800-acre Heritage Shores housing development nearby. But at Heritage Shores, launched in 2005 toward the end of the national real estate boom, only 284 of the planned 1,816 units have been sold as of June 30, putting a big dent in the demand for new stores. The number of houses built and sold is nearly 1,000 fewer than projected in early 2008.

Wilmington Trust Corp., founded by du Pont family members in 1903 and profitable every year until 2008, is selling out at a fire-sale price to M&T Bank Corp., headquartered in Buffalo, because of crippling losses on construction loans for southern Delaware retirement communities. In a deal announced Monday, M&T Bank agreed to pay $351 million - just $3.84 per share - in stock for the Delaware powerhouse, which was worth $2.6 billion three years ago. Not included in the price was M&T's assumption of the $330 million Wilmington Trust still owes the federal government from the 2008 bank bailout.

Delaware's political unrest, which brought reporters flocking to Wilmington for the Election Day test between angry Republican conservatives and frantic allies of President Obama , follows job-destroying business upheavals that have unwound the tight social and economic consensus in what consumer activist Ralph Nader used to call the "Corporate State. " The latest came Monday, the eve of Election Day, with the deep-discount sale of Delaware's dominant bank, money-losing Wilmington Trust Corp.

National Penn Bancshares Inc., among the Philadelphia-area banks hardest hit by the economic downturn, said Wednesday that it was selling a 16.7 percent stake in itself to private-equity firm Warburg Pincus L.L.C. for $150 million. National Penn chief executive officer Scott V. Fainor said the deal, done by selling shares to Warburg at about the current market value, showed that conditions at the Boyertown, Pa., bank had improved significantly. "We really wanted a deep due diligence done on our company because we were convinced we were bringing problem assets down," Fainor said in an interview.

WILMINGTON - Wilmington Trust posted a wider second-quarter loss Friday, as the regional bank set aside far more money to brace for souring loans. The provision for loan losses in the latest quarter rose to $205.2 million as a result of higher non-performing loans, loan charge-offs, and loans with unfavorable risk ratings. Company shares slid 5 percent. Wilmington Trust said the higher loan losses were driven by weakened financial condition of borrowers, "especially in southern Delaware, where signs of economic recovery remain tentative.

M Release: National Association of Home Builders' housing market index for July. Earnings: Crown Holdings; Delta Air Lines; IBM; Hasbro. T Release: Commerce housing starts for June. Session: Pa. House Insurance Comm., with Policy Committee, on health insurance rate increases. Earnings: JNJ; Fulton Financial W Session: Fed's Ben S. Bernanke on economic policy before Senate Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Comm., Senate Finance Comm. on the Wall St. bailout.