Spokane-area businesses face significant decisions this year centered on employee health benefits, as major provisions of federal health care reform legislation take effect on Jan. 1, 2014, reshaping insurance coverage in the U.S. In basic most
2013 is a critical year for the implementation of federal health care reform taking place in 2014, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Employers likely recall a first wave of implementation of the law in 2010, but the biggest changes to
Overall customer satisfaction with mortgage lenders has reached its highest level in the past six years, says the J.D. Power & Associates 2012 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study released late last year.Overall customer is 761 a
The start of a new year is a good time to take stock of your business relationships and make sure your professional service providers and partners are still a good fit for your company and its changing needs. When it comes to assessing your banking
Disgruntled shareholders are more likely to sue firms that use principles-based accounting standards instead of rules-based standards, according to a recent study by a University of Iowa accounting researcher.The study, by Richard Mergenthaler,
Third-quarter 2012 data for defined-contribution plans administered by Springfield, Mass.-based MassMutual Financial Group show that, combined, generation X and generation Y participants now account for 55 percent of the company's participant with
Viren & Associates Inc., a Spokane-based financial planning and employee benefits advisory company, has remained viable for almost 20 years by diversifying the services it offers clients, says Paul Viren, managing principal there. Viren, who in
Fewer than 700 banks appear on problem list, reaching three-year low
January 31, 2013
Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported aggregate net income of $37.6 billion in the third quarter of 2012, a $2.3 billionor 6.6 percentimprovement from the $35.2 billion in the
As the economy tentatively improves and businesses begin to increase sales and rebuild inventory, commercial-and-industrial lending also is on the rise, some lenders here say.Spokane-based Sterling Bank and the Spokane operations of U.S. Bank, a
Greg Franson, of SNAP Financial Access, and World Relief Spokane's Ivan Yerebakan have worked in tandem for years on a program meant to kick-start small businesses operated by refugees that find themselves relocated to Spokane.The development or