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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Sterling Financial

Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank and holding company Sterling Financial Corp. were founded in 1983 by William Zuppe and Harold Gilkey.

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Lenders react with bit of optimism

With pages of details yet to be digested, Spokane-area lenders and researchers reacted cautiously Wednesday to the Obama administration’s foreclosure-prevention proposal. The Treasury Department estimates as many as 9 million homeowners could be helped by the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. But the foreclosure rate remains relatively low in Spokane County.
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More banks considered at-risk

SAN FRANCISCO – More than 1,000 banks may fail during the next three to five years as the recession intensifies and loan losses climb, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets estimated this week. And among large banks, Sterling Financial, of Spokane, has topped analyst Gerard Cassidy’s early-warning system for spotting future trouble.
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Sterling stock rallies despite $356 million quarterly loss

Sterling Financial Corp. stock rallied Tuesday despite earnings savaged by huge losses in the Spokane bank’s construction loan portfolio. In an after-hours release, Sterling reported a net loss for fourth-quarter 2008 of $356.3 million, or $6.87 per share, compared with net income of $16.9 million, or 33 cents per share, for the 2007 period.
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Sterling suspends dividend payments

Sterling Financial Corp. Tuesday said it will report a loss for 2008, and the Spokane-based bank has suspended payment of the dividend on its common stock “until economic conditions improve.” Sterling said the unspecified loss will be the result of a non-cash charge against goodwill – what it paid for assets above fair market value – and a provision for loan losses.
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Teck Cominco to cut 1,400 jobs

Teck Cominco Limited will cut its global work force by about 1,400 positions, or 13 percent, to reduce costs in the face of persistently weak commodity prices, officials said Thursday. The cuts will save about $85 million annually. Teck also said it plans to reduce coal production this year due to declining global steel demand. The Canadian firm had already announced plans to close the Pend Oreille Mine in Northeast Washington in mid-February as a result of lower zinc prices.
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Bailout needs to trickle all the way down

There’s something to be said for a yearlong hiatus as business columnist: 2008? Not my fault. But certainly a missed opportunity, because the past 12 months were such a target-rich environment.
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Sterling sells stock to U.S. Treasury

The parent company of Sterling Savings Bank closed a deal that will bring the corporation $303 million from the U.S. Treasury. Sterling Financial Corp. sold to the Treasury department 303,000 shares of preferred stock, and issued a warrant allowing the government to buy 6.4 million shares of common stock at $7.06 per share, the Spokane-based company announced Friday.
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Sterling could net $303 million from bailout fund

Spokane’s Sterling Financial Corp. will receive $303 million from the U.S. Treasury if a tentative deal announced Monday closes. The investment, one of dozens approved or pending as the Treasury tries to shore up the nation’s financial system, would be the largest involving a Northwest-based financial institution.
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Sterling’s profits hurt by problem loans

Problems with residential construction loans continue to sap earnings at Sterling Financial Corp. The Spokane-based bank Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit of $5 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with $26.5 million, or 51 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2007.
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Banks seek to reassure depositors

With global financial institutions failing and trillions in investor dollars evaporating, Inland Northwest banks and credit unions are reassuring depositors their money is safe, and many are offering high-interest certificates of deposit to capture money from people fleeing unsound banks and tanking stock markets. Several area institutions are reporting double-digit percentage growth in deposits compared with a year ago. Many people were trying – often unnecessarily – to divide deposits among several banks in a bid to assure no one held more than the $100,000 insured by the FDIC.
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