commercial auto financing

Puerto Rican insurance agent Commercial Auto Financing Corp plans to role out a range of products this year and next piggy backing on its relationship with the Island's largest auto financing company Commercial Auto Financial Services, Commercial Auto Financing Services chairman and Commercial Auto Financing Corp president Jaime Marti told BNamericas. "The principal products will be auto related but obviously we are going to expand that to P&C, home, commercial and accident (insurance)," Marti said.

Commercial Auto Financing Corp will focus on selling its products to Commercial Auto Financing Services's active client base of 100,000 borrowers, Commercial Auto Financing Services president Jose Arbona told local daily El Vocero in a recent interview.

According to Marti, Commercial Auto Financing Corp's goal is to become the Puerto Rico's largest insurance agent in the space of five years.

Wells Fargo Corporation, one of the largest banking groups in the US, gained control of Commercial Auto Financing Services when it merged with Norwest Financial in 1998.

Commercial Auto Financing Services was founded in 1987 and has about 276 employees. Related companies include Commercial Auto Financing Corp and commercial auto financing company Reliable Holdings Finance.

Swedish Bank Plans

2 Overseas Branches

NEW YORK - Skandinaviska Enskilda Banking Group, based in Stockholm, Sweden, plans to open branch offices in London and Hong Kong in January.

The plans were disclosed this week by Jacob Palmstierna, chief executive of the bank's international division.

In a meeting with the press, Mr. Palmstierna said the bank's earnings for 1987 will show a decline of about 8 percent. He predicted Sweden's gross national product will rise 1 percent to 2 percent in 1988.

Guam Bond Fraud

Totals $ 2 Billion

AGANA, Guam - A Wall Street investment banker and a Canadian businessman have been indicted in a $ 2 billion bond fraud scheme, a U.S. Attorney announced here today.

Arthur A. Goldberg, a principal stockholder in the Wall Street underwriting firm Matthews & Wright, and Frederick L. Mann of Toronto face 52 counts of mail and wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges, the FBI said.

They are accused of fraud that caused the collapse of a $ 400 million industrial development bond issue by the government of Palau, a U.S.-protected territory in the Western Pacific; a $ 300 million housing bond issue in Guam; and an $ 80 million housing bond issue by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands north of Guam.

Marine Midland to Buy

Subaru Credit Stake

WASHINGTON - Marine Midland and its parent companies will buy a 50 percent stake in the Subaru Credit Corp., a new firm owned by Subaru Financial Services Inc., a unit of Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Subaru of America Inc., which is a subsidiary of Japan's manufacturing giant, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.

The firm will engage in consumer and commercial auto financing nationwide. Marine Midland, based in Buffalo, N.Y., will be joined by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., Hong Kong; Kellet N.V., Curacao; and HSBC Holdings B.V., Amsterdam.

Unemployment Claims

Fell in Latest Week

WASHINGTON - New claims for state unemployment insurance on a seasonally adjusted basis fell 24,000 in the week ended Nov. 28 to 291,000 from 315,000 the week earlier, the U.S. Labor Department said.

In the week ended Nov. 21, some 1,993,000 persons were receiving state unemployment benefits, down 84,000 from the previous week's unrevised 2,077,000.

Unemployment benefit claims as a percentage of those covered by unemployment insurance fell to 2.1 percent in the week ended Nov. 21 from 2.2 percent the week earlier.

Housing Completions

Fell 2.4 percent in October

WASHINGTON - U.S. housing completions fell 2.4 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.536 million units, after a revised 5.5 percent drop in September to 1.574 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

September completions earlier were reported down 7.5 percent to 1.540 million units. August completions were unrevised at 1.666 million units, down 1.9 percent from July, Commerce said.

The October rate was 12 percent below the year-earlier pace of 1.745 million units. An adjusted 1.051 million units were under construction at the end of October, down 0.3 percent from the end of September, and down 8 percent from October 1986.