Behrakis Grand Hall, Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA
29th Annual Monetary and Trade Conference
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

"Is Housing Ready for a Rebound?

 QE2, Housing and Foreclosures:  Are they Related?"

 
7:30AM - 8:00AM - Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:00AM - 8:15AM - Welcoming Remarks:
- George Tsetsekos, Dean, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University
- David Kotok, CIO, Cumberland Advisors & Vice Chair, GIC

8:15AM - 9:20AM - Session I: Panel Discussion and Audience Q & A
"Fannie/Freddie: Where Have We Been and Where are We Going?"

    * Josh Rosner of Graham Fisher & Co. Co-Author of Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon 
    * Chris Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics. Author of Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream 
    * Michael Lewitt, Author of The Death of Capital: How Creative Policy Can Restore Stability

Moderator: Gretchen Morgensen, Assistant Business and Financial Editor of The New York Times . Co-author of Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon

The speakers above will be available for a book signing during the break.

9:20AM - 9:50AM - Session II: "Outlook for Housing Recovery" Followed by Audience Q&A

    * David Berson of PMI
    * Moderator: Barry Nobel, NASDAQ OMX PHLX

9:50AM - 10:25AM -

Special Remarks, Charles Plosser, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Keynote Speaker: Tom Hoenig, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Moderator: Paul McCulley, Chairman, GIC Society of Fellows

10:25AM - 10:45AM - Coffee Break and Book Signing

10:45AM - 11:25AM - Session III: "What Does QE Mean for U.S. Housing?" Followed by Audience Q & A

    * Maria Pia Olivero, Dept of Economics, LeBow College of Business
    * Mark Vitner, Managing Director & Senior Economist, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
    * Moderator:John Mauldin, Millennium Wave Investments, 4-time NYT Best Selling Author

11:25AM - 12:10PM - Session IV: "GSEs: What To Do and How to Do It." Followed by Audience Q & A

    * William Poole, Former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
    * Moderator: Bill Dunkelberg, GIC Chair

12:10PM - 12:20PM - Summary and closing by Bill Dunkelberg, Chair, GIC

May 24, 2011

7:30AM - 12:30PM
Behrakis Grand Hall, Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA

Registration: $50 - Members  ·  $100 - Non-Members and includes a one-year membership

Registration Available Online:

http://www.interdependence.org/Event-05-24-11.php

VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. and TORRANCE, Calif., May 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CreditRiskMonitor (Pink Sheets: CRMZ)  and Institutional Risk Analytics ("IRA")  announced today a licensing agreement that will provide all CreditRiskMonitor subscribers access to the new IRA Counterparty Quality Scores ("CQ Scores"). The CQ Scores are designed to give depositors and other bank counterparties warning of possible failure. Click here  to see press release on PR newswire. 

The CQ Scores are part of IRA's Bank Monitor ratings and analytics system and were specifically developed to complement corporate ratings tools such as CRMZ's proven FRISK® scores. "Our bank stress letter ratings are designed for consumers," notes IRA CEO Dennis Santiago, who leads the design of IRA's ratings and analytics products. "We developed the CQ Scores with the team at CRMZ specifically to meet the needs of corporate treasurers, underwriters and risk managers who need to make decisions on commercial credit."

CreditRiskMonitor subscribers will now have access to CQ Scores for about 7,000 FDIC insured banks and 5,000 bank holding companies. The addition of the new CQ Scores to the over 25,000 FRISK® score ratings already available on public companies world-wide represents a significant increase in predictive-score coverage available on the CreditRiskMonitor service.

"The CQ Score is an exciting addition to our credit analysis service, for subscribers who want to quickly evaluate and monitor their cash management and letter-of-credit banking relationships," said Jerry Flum, CEO of CreditRiskMonitor. "We did a complete due diligence review of the CQ Score over a whole business cycle, and are very impressed with its ability to identify those banks most likely to be 'resolved' by banking regulators. The CQ Score is an efficient first step in a review process for bank counterparties. Plus, as has been our practice, we have added this exciting new capability to our service at no additional charge to subscribers.

The CQ Scores cover nearly all public and privately held banks, savings and loan institutions, and bank holding companies in the U.S. The CQ Scores are generated by a proprietary model designed by IRA to rank banks according to the likelihood of failure, being 'resolved' by the bank regulators. Data used in the model are derived entirely from objective fundamental data that banks are required to file with the FDIC.

"We believe that the U.S. banking industry is now in a new period of crisis," notes IRA co-founder and Managing Director Christopher Whalen, who recently issued a report downgrading the outlook on operating results for the U.S. banking sector. "We expect foreclosures to peak in 2011, and a continued wave of bank failures during 2011 and 2012."

Whalen, who runs IRA's advisory practice and is author of the book "Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream" adds, "Some banks have recapitalized successfully, but most have not. Smart CFOs and Treasurers will keep a watchful eye on their banking counterparties, especially this year and next, and doing this via CreditRiskMonitor is an excellent value."

Because of its unique approach to collecting and analyzing quarterly FDIC bank data, IRA is able to reduce the traditional 60-day+ delay and deliver a CQ Score as little as 30 days after the quarter end. The CQ Score utilizes a simple ratings scale from 1 to 8, with the highest number being the top (least risky) rating score.

"More recently," notes Flum, "we looked at every bank failure in the past 12 months, and we saw that nearly all of the failed banks had low CQ Scores for at least two quarters before being 'resolved.' At the same time, we found that CQ Scores in the risky 1 to 4 range are unusual, shown for only a small fraction of banks. We feel confident that the CQ Scores are going to be a great value for CRMZ customers. As the U.S. banking system works its way through the next couple of years of necessary consolidation and renewal, we want to help our users maximize business opportunities and avoid risk."

About CreditRiskMonitor

CreditRiskMonitor (www.crmz.com) is an Internet-based publisher of financial information, designed to save time for busy corporate credit professionals that competes with Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax and Experian.

About Institutional Risk Analytics

Institutional Risk Analytics (www.institutionalriskanalytics.com) is a provider of bank ratings, custom analytics and consulting services for credit officers, auditors, corporate lenders, regulators, investment managers and other decision makers. IRA publishes standardized benchmarks, ratings and soundness metrics covering both U.S. banking institutions and corporate obligors.

 Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release, including statements prefaced by the words "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "expects" or words of similar meaning, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, expectations or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, those risks, uncertainties and factors referenced from time to time as "risk factors" or otherwise in the Company's Registration Statements or Securities and Exchange Commission Reports. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, a future event, or otherwise.

CONTACTS:

SOURCE CreditRiskMonitor

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RELATED LINKS http://www.crmz.com http://www.institutionalriskanalytics.com

Questions? Comments? info@institutionalriskanalytics.com

Institutional Risk Analytics has added a new feature to the consumer version of The IRA Bank Monitor  to better serve the needs of retail users of our bank ratings.  The consumer web portal is located at www.irabankratings .com.

The new "Top 50" search feature allows you to search for banks based on a number of different criteria, including off balance sheet derivatives, loans to deposits, residential and commercial real estate, credit card loans, securities portfolios and foreign exchange footings.  These features allow users to focus on the business model attributes of different institutions.  We will be adding additional features in the future and welcome your comments.

The Top 50 list is the latest addition to the screening tools in The IRA Bank Monitor.  Users of The IRA Bank Monitor may search for banks by state using positive performance criteria such as the letter grade assigned by the IRA Bank Stress Index, top performers by state, and banks which accept brokered deposits.  The system also provides downside screens for banks with poor profitablity, visible indicia of moral hazard, and institutions that have failed one of the regulatory hurdles for capital adequacy.    

The new "Top 50" list for the consumer version of The IRA Bank Monitor is designed to assist consumers and financial professionals to quickly and easily find the depository institutions.  For example, if you are searching for top-rated banks in the state of Kansas as of Q4 2010, the top position is occupied by the $9.8 billion total asset Capital Savings Bank of Topeka.  At the end of 2010, Capital Savings Bank has a Bank Stress Index score of 0.72 vs. the industry average of 2.5.  The benchmark year of the index is 1995 which has a Banks Stress Index score of 1.  The excellent stress score earned Capital Savings Bank an "A+" rating from The IRA Bank Monitor.   

Institutional Risk Analytics  is a provider of bank ratings, custom analytics and consulting services to financial professionals around the world. For additional information about IRA's products and services for professionals, please contact our HQ in Torrance, CA, during regular business hours at (310) 676-3300 or info@institutionalriskanalytics.com .

For easy subscription access to IRA's consumer bank ratings, please visit our retail portal at www.irabankratings.com

IRA co-founder Christopher Whalen will participate in the "2011 Banking Industry Outlook" Conference  on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The conference is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Policy and Supervisory Studies Group.

2011 Banking Industry Outlook

February 24, 2011 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Conference Location: 

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Conference Center,
Third Floor
1000 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309

Agenda

8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast

9:00 Welcoming remarks -- Michael Johnson, Senior Vice President of Supervision and Regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

9:05 Economic Outlook: Self Sustaining Growth in 2011? What are the prospects for growth in 2011? Is progress being made in righting the wrongs that are weighing on the economy? Do structural barriers to recovery remain?  -- Mark Zandi, PhD, Chief Economist, Moody's Economy.com

10:05 Break

10:20 Commercial and Residential Real Estate Prospects: Are We There Yet? Has the Market Finally Hit Bottom? What are key indicators of recovery for residential and commercial real estate? How does the pace of improvement vary by region? Will shrinkage in the industry affect growth? How is the foreclosure crisis affecting markets?

Industry Panel, including Brad Hunter, National Director of Consulting, Metrostudy, and Victor Calanog, Director of Research, Reis Inc.

11:50 Lunch

12:50 p.m. The Analyst's Perspective: What's to Become of Banks? Adjusting to the New "Normal" How do banks move from survival to prosperity, given a lack of appetite for borrowing and new rules that alter and limit activities? Will the industry continue to consolidate?

Industry Panel, including Christopher Whalen, Managing Director, Institutional Risk Analytics, and Jefferson Harralson, CFA,
Managing Director, Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods

2:20 Break

2:35 Legislative Update: What's on the Agenda in Washington? What are the priorities of the new Congress?
Can we anticipate any tweaking of Dodd-Frank? What is contemplated on the consumer front?

Larry Lavender, Republican Staff Director for the Committee
on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives

3:35 Closing Remarks A Supervisory Perspective

Huston McKinney, CPA, Assistant Vice President of the Department of
Supervision and Regulation, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Institutional Risk Analytics  is a provider of bank ratings, custom analytics and consulting services to financial professionals around the world. For additional information about IRA's products and services for professionals, please contact our HQ in Torrance, CA, during regular business hours at (310) 676-3300 or info@institutionalriskanalytics.com .

For easy subscription access to IRA's consumer bank ratings, please visit our retail portal at www.irabankratings.com