Group Insurance Trust

The Association offers its members a variety of employee benefit plans through its Group Insurance Trust. (Individual institutions must meet an IRS “common bond” test in order to participate.) Members can select from a range of group life and health insurance plans underwritten by high quality insurers such as Blue Cross & Blue Shield, CIGNA, The Hartford, and Delta Dental. In addition to life and health plans, the Association offers accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), vision care, business travel accident insurance plans, an employee assistance program (EAP), long-term care, and wellness publications.

Contact
Robert Messing, Director of Administration, Group Insurance Services
Telephone: (617) 523-7595

 

Robbery Deterrent Program

The Massachusetts Bankers Association security program recommending member banks post signs in their branches requesting that customers remove all hats, sunglasses and hoods before entering the bank as a robbery deterrent has been very successful and adopted by banks across the country and in Mexico. It has received worldwide recognition. The program is simple. Banks post signs in their bank entrances requesting that all customers remove hats, hoods and sunglasses as a security precaution. The program can be coordinated with the local police department. It is important that the program be applied uniformly and consistently by bank personal. Consideration should be given for obvious medical and religious situations. Customers refusing to comply can be asked to leave the bank. Special signage with proper wording can be obtained by calling Financial Advertising at (617) 327-4645 in Roslindale, MA.

Contact
Peter Blanchard, Executive Director, Education Management and Member Services at Massachusetts Bankers Association
Telephone: (617) 523-7595
Fax: (617) 523-5960

New England Bank Directory

New England Bank Directory

The Winter 2011 edition of the New England Bank Directory, published by BankNews Media on behalf of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, will be available in December. The directory is the definitive, year-round resource for bank professionals throughout New England — and a cost-effective advertising opportunity for companies targeting the New England bank market.

The New England Bank Directory includes complete contact information, financial data, bank officers and directors, routing numbers, hours of business, branch locations, correspondents, and memberships for every bank in the following states:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

BUY YOUR COPY OF THE WINTER DIRECTORY

MBA Members
Click here to order online or download an order form.

MBA Non-Members
Click here to order online or download an order form.

Or call 800-336-1120.

ONLINE NEW ENGLAND BANK DIRECTORY

For an online subscription, visit
WWW.NEBANKDIRECTORYONLINE.COM

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ADVERTISING INFORMATION

The New England Bank Directory has a Yellow Pages section featuring a Supplier Guide and display advertising. Advertising may also be placed within the Bank Section. For more information about advertising opportunities, contact Robb Bertels at 913-261-7055.

ABA Insurance Services $4,000,000 Profit-sharing Distribution Declared

Total declaration amount of $75,500,000 since 1991.

One of the unique features of working with ABA Insurance Services is the opportunity to participate in a profit-sharing distribution program from our mutual reinsurer, American Bankers Mutual Insurance Ltd. MBA/ABA member banks that purchase coverage through ABA Insurance Services are automatically eligible to participate in the program. Once again, American Bankers Mutual Insurance is proud to announce that it will distribute $4,000,000 in underwriting profits this year to banks across the country. American Bankers Mutual Insurance has declared $75,500,000 in distributions to eligible member banks since 1991.

“This marks the 21st consecutive year that the reinsurance company has distributed profits directly back to our member banks,” said John Manor, chairman of American Bankers Mutual Insurance Ltd. “This is a major achievement that is a source of pride for our company and a valuable benefit for ABA members.”

Customers receiving profit-sharing distribution checks will receive notification of the amount that their bank is receiving via fax in February. Checks will be distributed throughout March. Bankers attending the ABA National Conference for Community Bankers in February will be able to pick up their bank’s check at the ABA Insurance Services’ booth in front of CAB Avenue in the program exhibit hall. 

For more information regarding this unique and rewarding feature of the MBA/ABA Insurance Services program, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-274-5222 or marketing@abais.com.

To view the entire ABA Insurance Services SafeTalk newsletter for January 2011, click here

MBA Thumbprint Signature Program

Touch Pads, Notification Tent Cards, and Window Decals for the Thumbprint Signature Program

MBA member banks, law enforcement and merchants can participate in the low cost Thumbprint Signature Program using Thumbprint Signature touch pads. The touch pad is intended to deter counterfeit and stolen check fraud by obtaining a Thumbprint signature, a fingerprint, from non-customers (customers who do not have a depository relationship with the institution) when cashing on-us and not-on-us checks. The Thumbprint Signature can be used by law enforcement agencies in the investigation of fraud claims made by account holders, and financial institution’s usage of the program is a natural deterrent. Participanting institutions, agencies and merchants will not retain the Thumbprint Signature in their files and the signature will be shared with law enforcement officials only in cases of suspected fraud. Supplies for the program include the touch pads, notification tent cards, and window decals. We provide all the information and sample letters.

Contact
Peter Blanchard, Executive Director, Education Management and Member Services at Massachusetts Bankers Association
Telephone: (617) 523-7595
Fax: (617) 523-5960
or
Pat Tabolsky, Administrative Assistant at Massachusetts Bankers Association to order additional supplies
Telephone: (617) 523-7595
Fax: (617) 523-5960

Verafin

BSA Compliance, Money Laundering and Fraud Detection Software

Verafin is more than a BSA solution provider. We offer a complete money laundering and fraud detection solution. Our second-generation approach brings fraud and AML detection together. It’s something we like to call FRAML. We’re committed to always staying one step ahead of bad guys and first-generation rules-based solutions.

What that means for you is a better process, a way to reduce your workload and costs. It’s why more than 500 financial institutions operating on nearly 50 core processing systems choose our solution to stay a step ahead of regulations, examiners and financial criminals.

We use risk-scoring to alert you to suspicious behavior, which also helps you prioritize your work. Examiners and auditors love the way we help you work. From OFAC and 314(a) monitoring to CTR and SAR filing, Verafin’s fraud and money laundering detection software is a truly automated solution.

• CONSOLIDATED AML/FRAUD ALERTS DASHBOARD
• CUSTOMER RISK SCORING
• INSTITUTION BSA/AML RISK ASSESSMENT
• SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY DETECTION
• COMPLIANCE REPORTING
• WATCH LIST SCANNING
• ENTERPRISE-WIDE CASE MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATION
• THIRD-PARTY VENDOR MANAGEMENT
• AUDITING, RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING
• CORE SYSTEM INTEGRATION
• WIRE INTEGRATION

Contact
Catherine Fleming at Verafin
Telephone: (709) 752-3050 ext. 3242
Visit the Verafin website. www.verafin.com

MBA/ABA/UPS Overnight Delivery Service Program

MBA/ABA/UPS Overnight Delivery Service Program

Financial institutions can take advantage of special pricing discounts through UPS under the enhanced MBA/ABA/UPS Overnight Delivery Service Program. Under this program, UPS offers special shipping rates to financial institutions eligible for MBA membership on overnight and international delivery services specified below. UPS has expanded the number of services available to MBA members.

UPS provides reliable overnight and international service to virtually anywhere in the world, serving delivery points within the United States and over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Online Enrollment Now Available: Visit http://www.savewithups.com/ababankers and click on “Sign Me Up Now.” If you prefer, you may enroll by calling the UPS National Association Hotline at 1-800-325-7000.

Program Benefits:

• 20% – 30% off published rates for UPS Worldwide Express^SM letters & packages (U.S. origin only)
• 10% – 20% off published rates for UPS Worldwide Expedited^SM documents & packages (U.S. origin only)
• 5% off published rates for UPS Next Day Air^â Early A.M.^â letters & packages
• 15% – 30% off published rates for UPS Next Day Air^â and UPS Next Day Air Saver^â letters & packages
• 10% – 25% off published rates for UPS 2nd Day Air^â and UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.^â letters & packages

*Discounts based on shipping characteristics.

How to Participate:

For more information or to enroll in this enhanced discount program, please:

• Enroll online at: http://www.savewithups.com/ababankers; or
• Contact the UPS National Association Hotline at 1-800-325-7000. Assistance is available for enrollment from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (Central Standard Time). Please refer to the American Bankers Association Program when calling to enroll.

Note: Financial institutions enrolled in the MBA/ABA/UPS Overnight Delivery Service Program prior to June 2004 must re-enroll in this program to receive the discounts and services under this enhanced program.

Staples Business Advantage

Group Buying Office Supplies Program

Association Members and Associate Members can take advantage of a program offered by Massachusetts based Staples, the Staples Business Advantage. With the help of Expense Management Group (EMG), a Memphis-based consulting firm specializing in helping financial institutions identify cost-savings opportunities, MBA has developed a partnership with Staples that will provide a comprehensive office products program to our membership at extremely attractive price levels.

The MBA/Staples Business Advantage program includes a complete selection of office supplies, paper products, inks and toners, furniture, computer supplies, copy services, as well as janitorial and banking supplies. As with many of the MBA programs, the Association has used our Membership’s collective purchasing power to create an aggressively priced program that would not be attainable by most of the Members on their own, using their individual buying power. Our analysis shows that some Members can expect savings of up to 40%.

Massachusetts based Staples is the world’s largest office products company and is ready to meet all of our membership’s product and service requirements. Staples will provide all program participants with dedicated account management, access to their internet-based online ordering system (Stapleslink.com), and will provide free, next day delivery to all of your locations. Registration is quick and simple. To start ordering today, just visit StaplesLink. Or, if you prefer, contact Staples to discuss your current office products requirements or have them evaluate your current office products costs to let you know how much you can expect to save under the MBA/Staples Business Advantage program.

Contact
Rolf P. Madsen, District Sales Manager
Telephone: (508) 253-5526
Fax: (508) 253-9100
Visit the StaplesLink web site.

Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation

Senior Crimestoppers Program and Veterans Initiative

The Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) is inviting members to participate in an initiative the Association has undertaken with the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation (SHCPF) in the state of Massachusetts.

The MBA enjoys a selected partnership with the SHCPF – a highly successful conduit for banks to use in earning no-risk Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit while helping to resolve a problem that plagues society – the exploitation and abuse of nursing home residents. The Foundation’s mission is to provide safe, crime-free, high-quality of life environments for our nation’s 3 million residents of nursing homes and other senior housing facilities by providing the Senior Crimestoppers Program through loans and investments made by the banking community.

In Massachusetts, crime against nursing home residents is a well documented problem that occurs with regular frequency in spite of the precautions of well-intentioned owners and operators. The fact is: crime against nursing home residents is prevalent, and it has been proven to be abated by the Senior Crimestoppers Program. Nationally, the program has reduced crime by more than 92.7 percent in nursing homes and senior housing facilities.

The MBA has adopted the Foundation’s mission of ensuring that each of our state’s more than 52 thousand nursing home and senior housing residents are in safe, crime-free environments. We are asking our member banks to participate in this effort through sponsorship of nursing homes and senior housing facilities in their communities. Your bank’s participation in this program will provide many benefits:

• Cost-effective, profitable, risk-free, CRA credit for either the lending or investment test;
• Positive public relations exposure for providing a safe and secure living environment for seniors in your community;
• Access to the 50+ market, the sons and daughters of nursing home residents, who are among the most affluent segment of the financial marketplace; and
• The assurance of knowing that you’ve done something proactive to improve the quality of life for the men and women who built your community and your bank.

Contact
Annie Coldstream, Grassroots and Member Services Coordinator at Massachusetts Bankers Association
Telephone: (617) 502-3816
Fax: (617) 523-6373
or
David Stone, Consultant at Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, Inc.
Telephone: (877) 232-0859 or (603) 387-7045
Fax: (901) 523-3620
Visit the SHCPF web site.

MBA and ABA-Sponsored CashSweep Program

Commercial Cash Sweep Program Sponsored by MBA and ABA

Designed to help community banks attract and retain key commercial accounts, the MBA and ABA-sponsored CashSweep program offered through SEI is a turnkey, automated system that sweeps excess commercial DDA balances into selected money market mutual funds. The program offers an integrated approach to building cash sweep services and oversees all aspects of the implementation process. Components include software implementation, technical training, extensive marketing support, and ongoing consulting services.

In response to banks’ growing need to offer products to commercial customers that are competitive to non-bank financial service companies, SEI was selected as the endorsed provider of a competitive and flexible cash sweep program. Through the MBA and ABA-sponsored program, community banks can offer both corporate and retail clients a variety of Money Market funds to satisfy a range of customer needs. The program provides a unique investment management process designed to ensure competitive and consistent performance.

Market Profile: Any commercial bank whose commercial customers would benefit from short-term investments of their excess DDA balances. Community banks will value the flexible, PC-based system accompanied by customized marketing support.

What Banks Can Do With Sweep Accounts:

• Generate fee-based income to diversify the earnings stream of the bank
• Retain existing clients by offering more competitive products and services
• Recapture assets that have left the bank to other financial institutions

How Clients Can Benefit From Sweep Accounts:

• Fully invest short-term assets conveniently and effectively
• Have short-term assets available and liquid
• Maintain a strong relationship with their bank
• Access to product variety

Contact
Karen Walbridge, Private Banking
SEI
1 Freedom Valley Drive
Oaks, PA 19456
Telephone: (610) 676-1688
Fax: (484) 676-1688
Visit the SEI web site.