In brief: Toyota recalling Sienna minivans

Washington – Toyota said Friday it was recalling 600,000 Sienna minivans to inspect for rust in the cable that holds the spare tire, adding to the more than 6 million vehicles already under recall by the automaker this year.

Toyota said it does not yet have a fix for the problem, which is likely confined to 20 cold-weather states that use road salt in winter. Owners in other states can have their vans inspected for the problem.

The Japanese automaker said the recall covers two-wheel-drive Siennas from model years 1998 through 2010. It said under the worst case, the cable could snap, causing the spare tire to fall onto the road behind the vans. Toyota did not immediately say whether it had any reports of crashes or injuries linked to the problem.

The automaker said owners would be told to bring their vans to dealers for an inspection while it develops a fix. Once that fix is ready, Toyota will notify customers again.

Detroit Free Press

Web company relocating office

SiteCrafting, a Web development company with headquarters in Tacoma, is moving its Spokane office to 152 S. Jefferson St. in downtown Spokane.

Company President Brian Forth said the move is expected to be done by May 1.

For the past year the company occupied leased space in the Sirti building at the Riverpoint campus.

Forth said the Spokane office has two full-time workers. It may grow by another five by the end of the year, he said.

Tom Sowa

Lynnwood bank closed by regulators

Regulators seized City Bank of Lynnwood, Wash., on Friday and turned its banking assets over to Whidbey Island Bank in Coupeville, Wash.

The move comes a month after City Bank, which has assets of $1.1 billion and lost $119.5 million in 2009, disclosed its troubles were even deeper than first reported. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. gave it until April 10 to raise new capital or sell itself to another bank.

City Bank is the state’s 14th largest, with eight branches and five loan offices from Puyallup to Mukilteo. Its primary regulators were the Washington Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC.

While most of Washington’s 90-some banks and thrifts are at least reasonably healthy, more than two dozen are operating under some degree of enhanced regulatory oversight.

Seattle Times