The News Tribune Business Team will keep you updated on what's happening in the South Sound and beyond. Check here for news about economic development, aerospace, shopping and much more.
Talk to us
Got something to say? Here's the place to say it. We welcome your comments on what's going on in business in the South Sound that we should be discussing, reporting or analyzing here on our blog or in the pages of The News Tribune.
Contributors
Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.
C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.
John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.
Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.
- All
- Aerospace (1477)
- Banking (179)
- Commercial Real Estate (145)
- Consumer Alert (28)
- Downtown Tacoma (225)
- Economic Development (273)
- Employment/Workplace (283)
- Food (32)
- General (1920)
- Labor (178)
- Port and trade (275)
- Residential Real Estate (77)
- Restaurants (145)
- Retail (63)
- Shopping (320)
- Technology (133)
- Tourism (742)
- Your view (7)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| << < | > >> | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||
- October 2009 (59)
- September 2009 (83)
- August 2009 (109)
- July 2009 (98)
- June 2009 (107)
- May 2009 (108)
- April 2009 (124)
- March 2009 (100)
- February 2009 (95)
- January 2009 (112)
- December 2008 (100)
- November 2008 (101)
- More...
XML Feeds- MrSinister
- Guest Users: 442
DuPont based Venture Financial Group released its first-quarter earnings report earlier today with results comparable to other Washington banks – as net income fell a bit and bank officials have decided to increase the provision for loan losses.
“We had a pretty darn good quarter, just about even with last year,” said Jim Arneson, Venture president.
• Net income came in at $3.1 million, compared to $3.2 million in the same period last year.
• The provision for loan losses rose over the first quarter of 2007, from $375,000 to a current $1,525,000.
• Total deposits decreased $10.2 million, or 1.2 percent, from $837.1 million last year to $826.9 million at the end of March. Deposits were $39.5 million – or 5 percent – higher than at the end of the first quarter of 2007.
• Nonperforming assets – troubled loans – as a percentage of total assets were 1.72 percent at the end of the quarter, compared to 0.27 percent at the end of 2007.
• Arneson explained that four delinquent loans – three to land developers and one to builder – caused much the increase in the loss provision. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have a loss," he said.
• Concernign the increase in the provision, he said, "Based on the best information we have, it’s setting aside money to make sure we have enough in case things get worse. It makes sense in this environment to have those numbers increasing. In certain geographies we’re seeing the price of lots and real estate decrease more than others.”
On a brighter side, Arneson said, commercial loans are increasing, as are loan originations.
“This may sound counterintuitive,” he said. “Our originations are about three times what they were last year. There are mortgage originators who aren’t in the market any more, and we are taking advantage of that opportunity. There’s not a lot of homes being built – we’re seeing less of that – but we’re seeing a lot of commercial.”
