Local Financial Heads Weigh In On Federal Bailout Package

How local community banks are doing amid the financial
crisis.

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Thursday afternoon, KHTS AM-1220 aired a special 1-hour
program detailing the current financial crunch.

Guests included Tamara Gurney; President and CEO of Mission
Valley Bank, Kris Hough; Vice President of SCV Bank, Congressman Buck McKeon,
and Arif Haliby; CEO of Total Financial Solutions.

The program first looked at the banking crisis as a whole,
and how it affects banks differently.

Mission Valley Bank and SCV Bank are considered community
banks. That means they focus on lending to local businesses and they do not
make residential loans. This practice has largely protected them from the
sub-prime mortgage fallout; however an indirect effect has been felt because as
other banks collapse and the credit flow stops, even local, well run banks are
left looking for money to loan out.

This is where the financial bailout package, recently passed
by Congress will come into play.

“Certainly if we’re going to continue to lend to small
businesses, we are going to have to have additional capital,” said Tamara
Gurney. “You have to allocate capital to every loan and at some point you have
to stop lending unless you get some more capital in, so it’s critical for us to
see how this plays out.”

Gurney went on to say that some of that money from the
bailout may trigger the broader, more positive effect by the end of the
year. 

For SCV Bank, operations are said to be forging ahead.

“I think there’s a misnomer out there that people think
banks don’t have any money to lend. I want to tell you that we made more loans
in this last quarter then any other in the history of our bank,” said Kris
Hough. “We will not be taking money in the rescue plan, because we are so well
capitalized.”

Arif Haliby said that the market has created a tremendous
opportunity for people to make positive decisions to advance their financial
status.

“I don’t think you’re going to see the world coming to an
end. I think what you’re going to see though, is that perception,” he said.
“Step back, take a deep breath, education is the key.”

All four guests believed that a major economic upswing is on
the horizon.

To hear the full podcast of the show and to learn how the
financial crisis will affect us in Santa Clarita, click below.

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