Reporter's Notebook

Paul Leonard can be reached at pleonard@vbjusa.com

Good banking by the bottle

In this year of economic tempest, with numbers reflecting massive job losses, shuttered businesses and depleted 401Ks, one figure rises above the rest: 133.

That’s the number of banks to fail this year as of Monday, according to numbers provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., with the latest casualty of the continuing financial meltdown a relatively-small Kansas savings-and-loan.

It’s the highest number in the history of the FDIC, the ubiquitous mother-of-all acronyms, once a complete afterthought, a peeling decal sticker on a teller’s booth – now the savior of capitalism as we know it, the garbage-man cleaning up the detritus of banks large and small.

There’s no doubt the economy is in desperate need for some good news. Lucky for us, a hint of what our President might call an “audacious” glimmer of hope came in the form of Monday’s opening of a Columbia Bank branch in downtown Vancouver, occurring on the same day as the 133rd U.S. bank failure of 2009.

Yes, in the midst of the bloated corpses of financial giants and the bony remains of small savings-and-loans, there are banks in this country that are expanding into new markets, fattening their deposits and writing new loans.

So what’s Columbia Bank’s secret? To get an answer, as is custom in my profession, I picked up the phone and made a call.

As opposed to calling say, Citi’s chief Vikram Pandit or departing Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, both armed with taxpayer-funded phalanxes of public relations professionals, contacting Columbia Bank senior vice president Mark Brandon was relatively painless.

Brandon seemed in good spirits, excited about this week’s branch opening in the Angelo Building downtown, as well as the bank’s planned opening on the 27th Floor of Portland’s Fox Tower in March.

And the optimism on his part seems justified: the Tacoma-based bank’s expansion into Clark County has all the hallmarks of being a well-planned venture, with Brandon hiring longtime local bankers like Gordon Rodewald and Joan Cooper and a new branch located on what is increasingly known among local realtors and developers as Vancouver’s “bank row.”

But the planning for success in today’s economy began well before Clark County was even on Columbia Bank’s map. At the height of the housing boom, the financial institution’s exposure to residential real estate investments was 12 percent of its total assets, a figure that has since declined to 6 percent, according to Brandon.

So local people, a good location and a conservative take on risky investments… what exactly has Brandon been drinking? And how can we bottle some to pass out at board meetings, Federal Reserve conclaves and cabinet sessions?

I, for one, wouldn’t know. I’m still waiting for Vikram and Ken to return my calls.

Business around the Northwest

PR pros help businesses navigate muddy media waters, Bellingham Business Journal

Bank approves loan for long-stalled project, Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce

Portland economy shows little improvement, Portland Business Journal

► On the Record

“We will govern differently or we will not survive.”

– Republican Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt, after voting for a 1 percent property tax hike on Thursday. Boldt joined Commissioner Steve Stuart, a Democrat, to approve the increase, with the new funds mostly going to prevent further cuts at the county Sheriff’s Department.

Reporter's Notebook

Paul Leonard can be reached at pleonard@vbjusa.com

To the next Congressman, or woman

Love him, hate him or merely tolerate him: Brian Baird was – and still is, despite this week’s announcement of his retirement after 10 years in Congress – a man more practical than ideological.

Whether it is skepticism over healthcare reform, unfailing support of the military, or a fiscally-conservative voting record spread over six terms in the House of Representatives, Baird has been an almost-perfect mirror of the values shared by a clear majority of his constituents.

He’ll be a hard one to replace.

Nevertheless, the jockeying to fill his shoes in the 3rd District is well under way – especially on the right side of the aisle, with Olympia financial consultant David Castillo, Washougal City Councilman Jon Russell, YouTube healthcare town hall sensation David Hedrick, and perhaps, state Rep. Jaime Herrera all in the GOP mix.

Though it may be hard to predict who will emerge from what promises to be a tough primary next year, here’s some advice for any of Baird’s would-be successors:

Keep it about business and leave the partisan party politics alone.

While many might not agree with Baird’s votes on healthcare, the Troubled Asset Relief Program and this year’s economic stimulus package, there’s no doubt of his willingness to buck his own party to weigh the cost vs. benefit for his constituents.

And in regards to TARP, Baird displayed a true grit rare for a career politician, meeting earlier this year with business interests and ex-depositors after Bank of Clark County’s implosion, defending his decision to support the bailout in front of a tough audience.

It was at that meeting that Baird spoke, not as a member of the Democratic caucus, but as the region’s advocate in the halls of Congress.

Match that bipartisan spirit with David Castillo’s recent invective against the science behind climate change or David Hedrick’s Internet rant on healthcare reform, and the differences seem stark indeed.

Baird was reelected five times because he knew Southwest Washingtonians prefer practical solutions to party ideology every day of the week, twice Sundays.

Let that be a lesson for anyone, Republican and Democrat, looking to succeed him.

Business around the Northwest

SBA names new regional chief, Portland Business Journal

Recession raises unemployment tax rates, South Sound Business Examiner

Weak employment growth expected in early 2010, Bellingham Business Journal

► On the Record

“The message sent by increasing taxes in such tough times would be terrible – it would be like saying, ‘we know you’re struggling, but we’re going to ask for more taxes anyway.’”

– Mayor-elect Tim Leavitt, writing on his blog after voting against a 1 percent property tax increase on Monday. The Vancouver City Council voted 4-3 against the tax hike, which would have helped plug a $6.4 million deficit in the projected 2010 budget.

Reporter's Notebook

Paul Leonard can be reached at pleonard@vbjusa.com

Shop local

There’s nothing like an arctic blast to make one want to ditch the convenience of online holiday shopping in favor of patronizing locally-based businesses.

But seriously, it’s never been more important to shop local.

For hundreds of Southwest Washington retailers lucky enough to make it this far through the recession and today’s nascent economic recovery, this holiday season will most likely make or break their bottom line in the year ahead.

We’ve already seen what a lackluster holiday shopping season means for local retailers.

Last year, a trifecta of massive layoffs, stock market losses and an icy, snowy start to winter made for one of the most disastrous shopping seasons in regional memory.

For those who lost a job, or had a family member laid off, the sound of jingle bells was replaced with the flap of wallets snapping shut.

Meanwhile, others, with perhaps more money to spend, chose to get gifts from online retailers like Amazon.com – with $25.5 billion spent on Internet holiday purchases, down only 3 percent from the pre-recession holiday season the year before, according to digital sales tracker comScore, Inc.

With that billion-dollar figure in mind, here’s a plea on behalf of local retailers, many of which still teeter on the verge of closing their doors: For every unemployed member of your family, for every laid-off close friend or colleague, buy one present this holiday season from a locally-owned business.

The impact on retailers will be both immediate and long-lasting. And for every dollar spent locally, shoppers will help provide an antidote to Clark County’s disastrous 12.9 percent unemployment rate by supporting the real engine of regional job growth – small businesses.

So we call on holiday shoppers to brave the bitter cold this week and hit locally-owned stores from Main Street, Vancouver to Main Street, Ridgefield and everywhere in between.

Yes, we know it can be much more convenient and pleasant to sit with one’s laptop by the fireplace and point-and-click through the holiday season. And yes, we know it’s cold out there.

But don’t worry: this is why ear-muffs were invented.