Making connections
One of the great things about being a journalist in Maine is the access you have to people in power. Unlike in more populous states, journalists here can usually get a hold of a company president, an influential politician, a state commissioner or other high-ranking officials with relative ease.
I was reminded of that as we were researching story ideas for this issue, which focuses on banking and finance. As part of that research, I was poking around on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s website — the agency that regulates most of the banks in this country. I found a dataset that shows Maine's total loan balances in federally insured institutions, and there was an interesting line item: under credit cards, it showed a $5 billion bump over last year's balance.
Intrigued, I called Lloyd LaFountain, Maine's superintendent of the Bureau of Financial Institutions, and asked if he knew anything about it. He told me he'd look into it, and the next day, I heard back. He told me TD Bank's call report showed a $5 billion bump and suggested I inquire there. So I called Larry Wold, Maine president for TD Bank, who also returned my call promptly. He said he believed the bump was a reflection of the bank's recent purchase of mega-retailer Target's credit card operation. Unfortunately, it won't have any significant impact here in Maine since the credit card operations for TD are based in Canada — unlike its loan and deposit operations which are based in Lewiston and Auburn. But at least I got a quick answer and a better understanding of how banks work.
For greater detail on how banks work, check out Staff Writer Lori Valigra's story, “Cyber connections,” starting on page 24. In it, bank executives talk about the challenges and innovations in delivering services to customers who are increasingly conducting transactions online.
Change is also coming to mortgage lenders as new federal regulations kick in come January. Senior Writer Jim McCarthy looks at what the new regs mean and how they will change business as usual, in “Squeezed,” starting on page 30. Also part of the focus on banking and finance are tables profiling small business loans in Maine on page 34, and a list that shows the largest loans from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to businesses in Maine on page 28.
We also have a profile of Maine Oxy, the Auburn specialty gas company, which starts on the cover. The ESOP company has been expanding over the past several years and now operates 15 stores throughout New England. We like the advice displayed on the company's manufacturing floor: “Work like an owner, think like a customer.”
That duality is also reflected in the guiding philosophy of our cover subject: Roger Milliken. Head of one of the state's largest timber companies, Baskahegan Co., Milliken is also an avowed environmentalist who spent 12 years on the global board of The Nature Conservancy, the last four as chairman. As Contributing Writer Doug Rooks' story, “Taking a stand,” points out, Milliken is effective in the worlds of commerce and conservation.
Speaking as a forestry-major-turned-business-editor, that's the kind of balance we can all strive for.
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