EBANK Financial Services Inc. (fka EBDC)

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http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2002/01/28/newscolumn8.html

Bankers seek compromise over predatory lending
Meredith Jordan

When the legislative session resumes Jan. 28, Georgia Bankers Association lobbyists will be back at the table with two key issues, one GBA expects to support and the other it hopes to kill.




The first, Senate Bill 70, involves a predatory lending bill pending from the last session. The GBA supports the measure, assuming its language is similar to a bill passed in the last session.



But the association intends to fight a bill that may be introduced to prevent state-chartered banks from owning real estate brokerage operations, said Joe Brannen, president of the GBA.



"The principal bill is predatory lending," said Brannen. "Our goal is to support legislation that goes after predatory lenders -- without affecting the legitimate lenders we represent."



The bill passed the Senate last year with GBA's support after the Senate banking committee instituted all but two of the association's recommendations on the draft bill. However, the bill was too watered down for Sen. Vincent Fort of Atlanta, who introduced it. It went through the banking committee, where it underwent changes, and then passed the Senate unanimously. It is pending in the House.



Commercial Banking

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Gov. Roy Barnes has said he will introduce a bill of his own that would be a compromise between Fort's bill and one that is acceptable to lenders.



The real estate legislation, if it were introduced, would prevent state-chartered banks from owning real estate brokerage operations. A similar battle is brewing in Washington as it affects nationally chartered banks.



Brannen argues the bill isn't necessary, saying it is a federal issue. Brannen likens the national proposal as parallel to the broadening of the scope of the role of banks that came with the passage of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. Beyond that, it's a fairness issue, he said. "Real estate companies can make loans," he said. "Why can't banks broker real estate?"



Realtors see it differently. They say a state law is needed because otherwise banks would have an unfair advantage, something that would put smaller real estate operations out of existence.


Southside bank raising cash

Georgia Bancshares Inc. hopes to raise $10 million to fund the expansion of the Bank of Georgia, a community bank based in Fayetteville that focuses on individuals and small and medium-sized businesses in the Peachtree City, Fayette County, Senioa, Sharpsburg and Newnan areas.



The bank is planning to sell as many as 800,000 shares of stock priced at $12.50 per share. However, there is no minimum number of shares that must be sold in the offering, which means proceeds will immediately be available regardless of how many shares are sold. The money would go to fund continued growth of the bank, including the opening of more branches and an increasing number of loans.



The bank commenced operations on Feb. 18, 2000, and completed its first year on Dec. 31, 2000, with more than $67 million in total assets, also posting a small profit. On July 9, it opened its first branch office in Newnan.


Kinder, gentler SEC?

It is no longer a foregone conclusion that a public company's disclosure of bad behavior to the Securities and Exchange Commission will result in an enforcement action, according to two corporate lawyers at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Assuming the company has cooperated with the investigation, the SEC can take that into account and choose not to bring an enforcement action. An article about the shift, penned by Walter Jospin and Jim Maxson in the Atlanta office of Paul, Hastings, appeared in the newsletter of the Securities Committee of the International Bar Association.


Peachtree Capital

What is Atlanta-based Ebank.com Inc. (OTC BB: EBDC) going to do with Peachtree Capital, which it acquired Dec. 31? Leave it alone. The company plans to manage its new brokerage arm as a wholly owned subsidiary, leaving its offices where they are and its management in place, said Jim Box, president and CEO of Ebank.



Ebank's assets are in the range of $95 million. That makes it similar in size to Peachtree Capital, which has more than $100 million in managed assets. The similarity in size was one of the things that appealed to Box about the acquisition, he said.



"I wanted to have complementary service for the bank, and the brokerage services, and I wanted to get a predictable revenue stream." Peachtree brings about 2,500 accounts. About two-thirds of the financial planning and securities brokerage firm's revenue is recurring.


Independent Accolades

Jaywalk Inc., an Alpharetta-based company that provides independent investment research to institutional investors, has been trying to test its work next to the big Wall Street firms.



Investars.com, a Web-based firm that tracks Wall Street research, ran tests on Jaywalk's independent investment research alongside the investment banks'.