Financial Institutions Consulting Corporation

Date of Review: July 2002

Company Overview

Financial Institutions Consulting Corporation (FICC) provides employee benefit and executive compensation planning for financial institutions across the country.  They specialize in designing custom-tailored compensation packages exclusively for the banking industry, including officers, directors and employee groups.  They also provide financial institutions with the single-premium, no-surrender-charge life insurance (BOLI) used to informally fund these plans and to recover the costs of the plans.

Company History

FICC was founded in 1988 as a Tennessee corporation and is headquartered in Memphis.  The corporation has two shareholders:

• Larry Chinn, president & CEO
• Bill Landers, COO & General Counsel

Other key personnel include:

• Boyd Wade, CFO
• Karen Boney, Senior Benefits Counsel
• Maelyse Webb, Vice President of Financial Services
• Mike Moore, Senior Benefits Analyst

Financial Strength and Stability

FICC is a closely held corporation, and as such has not provided financial information.

Industry Reputation

The following industry references were provided:

Security Federal Savings Bank, Logansport
Richard Cassidy, president
(219) 722-6261

Bedford Federal Savings Bank
Jack Kenworthy, president
(812) 275-5907

Mutual Federal Savings Bank, Muncie
Dave Heeter, EVP & COO
(765) 747-2880

Each of these references were contacted and asked the following questions:

How long has your bank been a FICC client?  Average response:  6.7 years.

Overall, how would you characterize your satisfaction with FICC?

Poor (0%)          Fair (33%)         Good (33%)       Excellent (33%)

Would you recommend FICC to a fellow community banker?

Yes (66%)         No (33%)

FICC has been endorsed by ACB Partners, Inc., a subsidiary of America’s Community Bankers (ACB).

Market Position

Primary competitors include Clark/Bardes Consulting and Benmark.  FICC strives to differentiate itself by designing innovative, custom-tailored benefit plans for each client, which are structured to survive a change in control.  They pride themselves in their ability to design and implement these plans in a manner that not only allows the institution to attract, retain and reward key officers and directors, but also to do so in a manner that is profitable for the institution.  FICC strives to deliver administrative services after installation of the plan that are superior to those of their competitors.

Contact Information

Financial Institution Consulting Corporation
700 Colonial Road, Suite 102
Memphis, TN 38117
(800) 873-0089
(901) 684-7414 fax
www.ficc.net

William J. (Bill) Landers
COO & General Counsel
blanders@ficc.net

Conclusion

We find FICC to be an established, reputable and viable provider to the financial services industry.  They have an existing and satisfied client base, evidencing their ability to perform.  Based upon these findings, the IBA is pleased to recommend FICC to its members for their consideration.