Delinquent and foreclosed homeowners will most likely continue dragging down the Inland Empire's economy for at least another 18 months, according to a report published on Thursday.
The Ontario-Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area ranks No. 1 in every economic-risk category analyzed by First American CoreLogic Inc. in a mortgage risk report. The company is a subsidiary of Santa Ana-based First American Corp. (NYSE: FAF).
Categories include home value depreciation, fraud, foreclosure and an economic-health index.
"The two riskiest (areas) are Riverside and Los Angeles, where (home) prices have declined roughly 25 percent from a year ago and the economy is struggling," the report says, "particularly the labor market, with an unemployment rate that has increased by roughly two percentage points during the past year."
"The combination of rapidly declining prices and increasing unemployment significantly increases the likelihood of poor mortgage performance," it states.
Eight of the top 10 metro areas are in California, including Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Stockton and Bakersfield.
The report analyzes the performance of about 30 million loans in more than 7,500 ZIP codes across the country.
]]>The Inland Empire's manufacturing industry continued to struggle in August, according to a report released Monday afternoon.
Last month, researchers with Cal State San Bernardino's Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis said weakness in the local manufacturing sector was becoming a trend.
Not much has changed.
The August purchasing manager's index came in at 47.7. A number below 50 equals contraction, and above 50 means growth. July's index was 41.2.
Since October, the local reading has been below 50 more often than above it -- a phenomenon unseen since mid- to late-2006 and mid-2000 to late 2001.
Managers at 50 companies throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties were surveyed by the institute.
Only 4 percent said they think the local economy will strengthen in the near future. The rest said the economy will remain weak or get even weaker.
June's report had stated that oil and raw material prices were eating away profit from local companies' bottom lines at a record rate.
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
]]>Vineyard Bank's parent company was thrown yet another lifeline last week, according to financial documents filed on Tuesday.
Vineyard National Bancorp's deadline to repay a severely-overdue $48 million loan to First Tennessee Bank National Association is being extended to Oct. 28. This is the company's fifth waiver on the loan.
Since the proxy battle ended between Vineyard and ousted CEO Norman Morales last month, Vineyard is taking baby steps as federal regulators closely monitor the company's financial decisions.
Vineyard reported more than $130 million in losses over the last few quarters, and customers collectively withdrew almost $230 million in deposits from April to June.
At least Vineyard's banks are seeing some deposit inflows, according to financial statements, which helps replace the huge outflows.
The bank is balancing incoming credit and revenue lines against its breathtaking losses to stay liquid.
Shareholders elected five of Morales's candidates to Vineyard's board of directors, but one of them, Cynthia Harriss, recently resigned. Board chairman Perry Hansen was elected to take Harriss's place, pending regulatory approval.
]]>Last week, California's Employment Development Department released a "top jobs" report for specific regions throughout the state, including the Ontario-San Bernardino-Riverside metropolitan area.
The positions are based on listings on the department's CalJOBS web site and estimated future openings.
Between 2004 and 2014, about 8,600 registered nursing jobs and 11,300 heavy-truck-driver positions are estimated to pop up. Locally, the median annual salary is about $73,000 for nurses and $42,000 for truck drivers.
Accountants and auditors, which require at least a bachelor's degree, and bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks -- which require two years of post high school education -- are next on the list.
More than 8,500 of these jobs will be created between the 10-year period. The local accountant or auditor median annual wage is about $57,000, and the clerks supporting them rake in almost $35,000 a year.
The two highest-paying jobs are engineering manager -- making a median yearly salary of $103,000 -- and probation officer/correctional treatment specialist, which makes about $82,000 a year.
Next on the list, from top to bottom: child-family-school social workers, police-sheriff patrol officers, licenses vocational nurses, plumber-pipefitter-steamfitter specialists, police-fire-ambulance dispatchers, and eligibility interviewers for government programs.
]]>Californians bought 65 million gallons less in May 2008 than in May 2007 -- a 5-percent drop, according to a report released last week Aug.28 by the state's Board of Equalization.
That's on top of last month's year-over-year decline. The board said that commuters purchased 2.2 percent less gas in April this year versus April 2007, a 28 million-gallon drop.
The average price for a gallon of gas in the San Bernardino-Riverside metropolitan region has been dropping for more than 50 days from a peak of $4.61 in June, but it's still higher than the $2.73 locals paid one year ago.
On Friday, the average local price was $3.86 a gallon.
Diesel fuel consumed in California in May dropped 225 million gallons -- a whopping 11-percent drop when compared to May 2007.
"The numbers confirm what every hard-working family knows," said Michelle Steel, 3rd district board member, in a news release. "When gas prices go up, consumption goes down."
Consumption might be heading down hill, but the state's gas tax revenue is going up.
"The BOE estimates that nearly twice as much sales tax is generated annually by higher gasoline prices than five years ago," the release said. "Those higher prices generated approximately $3.6 billion in sales tax during 2007 when the average price (per gallon in California) was $3.12. In contrast, 2003's gasoline sales generated $2.1 billion when the average pump price was $1.88."
]]>"The second quarter continues to be very challenging and opportunistic for community banks," said Michael Natzic, branch manager of the firm's Big Bear Lake branch, in a news release.
"Although we saw big write-downs in goodwill from some of the larger community banks, the majority of the smaller to mid-size community banks remain rather stable and adequately capitalized," he said.
To request a copy of the report, visit: www.syllc.com/communitybankreport
Financial companies headquartered locally and analyzed in the report include Chino Commercial Bancorp, Ontario-based CVB Financial Corp., Palm Desert-based Desert Commercial Bank, Big Bear Lake-based First Mountain Bancorp, Upland-based Golden State Business Bank, Ontario-based ICB Financial, Riverside-based Premier Service Bank, Riverside-based Security Bank of California, and Temecula Valley Bancorp.
]]>Recession? What recession?
The Commerce Department on Thursday said the nation's gross domestic product actually jumped 3.3 percent between April and June, a revised estimate that was much higher than expected.
It was better than the first quarter's 0.9 percent growth and a negative 0.2 percent in the end of 2007, equipping recession-naysayers with more fuel for their fire.
But don't confuse the country's growth with what's going on at home.
"You could call it a regional misfortune... or a micro-recession," said Ira Jackson, dean of the Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, about the Inland Empire's economy.
Our region's misfortune hearkens back to the late 1980s economy in New England, which shrunk a whopping 8 percent at one point, Jackson said. Just like San Bernardino and Riverside counties, construction and finance businesses -- among other industries -- led the downward spiral in unemployment at the time.
The U.S. economy may have expanded during the second quarter, but the year's remaining GDP numbers might nose dive into the red.
"Recession is also in the eye of the beholder," Jackson said. "When we look at (the definition of a) recession, we ought to be thinking about consumer confidence, which is at historic lows."
]]>PFF Bancorp, the financial parent of PFF Bank & Trust, announced on Wednesday that its shareholder meeting will be held on Sept. 25 at 9:30 a.m. at the company's headquarters on 9337 Milliken Ave.
Votes will be tallied for the proposed merger between PFF and FBOP Corp., an Illinois-based company which owns several banks throughout the country.
If shareholders approve the acquisition, PFF banks will become Cal National Bank institutions.
With its common stock -- along with special series shares that PFF issued to FBOP through an agreement -- FBOP controls 28 percent voting power and will vote "yes" on the merger.
Collectively, PFF's board members and certain executive officers hold almost 3 percent voting power and will also vote "yes" on the merger.
If the merger is approved, stockholders will pocket $1.35 per share. For some, it's a huge loss, but other investors bought PFF stock when shares hovered around $1.
While customers collectively pulled out almost $600 million between March and June, multiple law suits were filed against PFF over the last couple of months.
Plaintiffs claim PFF executives foresaw huge real estate-related losses and sold their stock, while at the same time investing employees' 401k and stock-option retirement plans into PFF stock and telling shareholders that everything was OK.
Shareholders lost millions of dollars after shares peaked at almost $40 in mid-2006.
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
]]>Vineyard National Bancorp, parent of Vineyard Bank, announced on Monday evening that Cynthia Harriss resigned from the Corona financial company's board of directors.
She was one of five candidates that former CEO Norman Morales managed to get elected to the board following a proxy battle, which ended in a shareholder vote meeting earlier this month.
The board appointed Perry Hansen, board chairman, to take Harriss's place, pending regulatory approval.
Vineyard also said that it amended the company's bylaws on Aug. 20 and increased the number of board seats from seven to eight. To fill the added spot, it appointed interim president and CEO James LeSieur to serve as a director, pending regulatory approval.
Federal regulators didn't approve of Morales sitting on the board.
Vineyard fired him earlier this year, and he's been trying to regain control of the bank ever since then with the help of long-time investor Jon Salmanson.
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
]]>The economy might not be throwing commercial real-estate professionals champaign salaries like it was before the downturn, but now seems better than ever to capitalize on renewable technologies, according to some who work in the field.
"(The green movement) is chugging along faster," said Mary Sullivan, long-time commercial market researcher and owner of Riverside-based Sullivan Consulting Services.
"On the development side, it takes a while, but people are realizing it won't be as expensive as they once thought."
Tenants looking to rent space are increasingly inquiring about green office and industrial buildings, she said.
"It was originally thought to be more expensive, and there are still financial challenges," Sullivan said. "But they realize they can recapture that in long-term (energy efficiency) savings."
One of the largest local green projects garnering attention is a 600,000 square-foot rooftop on a large industrial building in Fontana. Several photovoltaic solar panels that will eventually transform sunlight into electricity are being installed by Rosemead-based electricity provider Southern California Edison.
The project is the first step of a larger $875 million proposal to fill more rooftops with solar panels. Edison is waiting for approval within the next six months from the California Public Utilities Commission to move forward.
For more information on "going green" in the Inland Empire, visit www.greenvalleynow.org, www.giveforthefuture.org and www.cssd.ucr.edu.
]]>When the 2008 Southern California International Business Summit hits Ontario's Doubletree Hotel on Sept. 19, consulates from 15 countries will mingle with regional business leaders who are looking to make more money in oversees markets over the next decade.
"They range from Poland, Mexico, Japan, China, Singapore, Armenia, and others," said Bill Carney, president and CEO of Riverside-based Inland Empire Economic Partnership. "We're hoping over 400 people will attend this year."
The organization tried promoting the first annual event last year, but efforts to attract publicity were in vain when October's wildfires drew most, if not all, regional news media reporters to the natural disaster.
"Ultimately, we'd like to encourage and increase the amount of global trade in the Inland Empire and show our business community the opportunities of developing business in foreign markets," Carney said. "If you look right now among companies doing well in profitability and sales, it's those having the largest share of foreign markets, the Caterpillars and John Deeres of the world."
Foreign investment into companies across San Bernardino and Riverside counties is another subject the event will address.
So what businesses should attend the event, in Carney's opinion?
"It's really for any business, but the obvious are the small manufacturers," he said. "There are a lot of them who do foreign trade. We become aware of the niche products for markets abroad... and answer questions about how you finance it, insure it, and make sure you get paid."
The event is $50 if paid in advance, or $65 at the door, and pre-registration is required. Organizers ask that you RSVP by Sept. 12.
For more information, visit www.ieep.com or call 951-779-6700, ext. 241.
]]>Over the last few years, the real-estate fraud unit of the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has seen a 40-percent year-over-year increase in residents claiming to be fraud victims.
The unit's most-recent buzz: foreclosure fraud investigations.
Lately, investigators are dealing with foreclosed homeowners saying they were lured by schemers who promised foreclosure relief for a price tag of $2,000, $3,000 or even more.
"Our attention is directed there because the times demand it," said Larry Roberts, lead deputy district attorney. "But we're easily distracted by the overwhelming amount of (other) cases coming in over the last year."
From July 2007 to July 2008, the unit received almost 460 formal complaints from residents across the county claiming they were duped by mortgage fraud or foreclosure fraud schemes.
For the small 10-person division, the task is daunting, especially when the unit's case load grows larger every month.
It usually takes three to six months before investigators can determine whether a complaint can be turned into a case.
"We have 139 cases sitting here, waiting to be investigated," he said. "It continues to increase."
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
]]>1st Centennial Bancorp announced Monday that it gave the boot to two top executives last week.
On the heels of the Redlands-based financial company's second loss in 16 years, its board of director's fired Tom Vessey, president and CEO, and John Lang, chief credit officer, on Friday.
Chief Financial Officer Beth Sanders wouldn't comment. She deferred to a company statement that says Suzanne Dondanville, chief operating officer, is now the interim president and CEO.
1st Centennial's second-quarter financial filings say the company has enlisted D.A. Davidson & Company -- a Great Falls, Mont. financial advisor -- to evaluate "capital and other strategic alternatives."
Its losses stem from home builders who can't repay what they borrowed from the bank.
The company lost $4.2 million over the first six months of this year compared to earnings of $4.1 million over the same period last year.
Total deposits at 1st Centennial's six bank branches jumped 13 percent from December to June. Stock shares closed Tuesday at $2.15, down from a peak of $30 in March 2007.
The $760 million asset bank has branches in Redlands, Palm Desert, Temecula, Escondido, Brea and Irwindale.
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
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