Businessweek

CMS Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for CMS Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals and small businesses. Market Area The company’s primary market area is Westchester County, New York, a northern suburb of New York City. It conducts its retail banking operations from its corporate administrative office located in White Plains, the county seat for Westchester; and five retail banking offices located in Eastchester, Greenburgh, Mount Kisco, Mount Vernon, and east White Plains, New York. Lending Activities The company originates multi-family, non-residential, construction, home equity, and second mortgage and commercial loans both within and outside of Westchester County, New York. Residential Mortgage Lending: The company’s mortgage loan originations are for terms of 15 to 30 years, amortized on a monthly basis with interest and principal due each month. The company offers conventional mortgage loans for terms of approximately 30 years using standard documents. Conventional residential mortgage loans granted by the company customarily contain ‘due-on-sale’ clauses, which permit it to accelerate the indebtedness of the loan upon transfer of ownership of the mortgage property. The company also offers adjustable-rate mortgage loans with a maximum term of 30 years. Multi-family Loans: The company seeks opportunities to make loans secured by real estate improved with multi-family (five or more units) buildings. These loans are structured with repayment terms of approximately 30 years. Construction Loans: The company offers short-term construction loans to builders for projects that are preleased or presold. For these types of loans, it obtains the personal guarantee of the builder. Home Equity Loans and Lines of Credit: The company offers home equity loans and lines of credit that are secured by the borrower’s primary residence. Its home equity loans could be structured as loans that are disbursed in full at closing or as lines of credit. Home equity loans and lines of credit are offered with terms approximately 25 years. Its home equity loans and home equity lines of credit are originated with either fixed or adjustable interest rates tied to the prime rate. Non-Residential Real Estate Loans: The non-residential real estate portfolio consists of loans that are collateralized by properties in the company’s normal lending area. It lends up to a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 80% on commercial properties. Commercial Loans: In addition to non-residential real estate loans, the company engages in small business commercial lending, including business installment loans, lines of credit, and other commercial loans. Consumer Loans: The company offers various consumer loans to meet customer demand and the needs of the community and to increase the yield on its loan portfolio. Consumer loans are offered for terms of approximately 5 or 10 years, depending on the collateral, at fixed interest rates. Investment Activities The company’s investment securities consist of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate government-sponsored enterprise securities and mortgage-backed securities, all of which are directly or indirectly insured or guaranteed by the issuing agency, and corporate and municipal bonds. Deposits The company offers various deposit accounts with a range of interest rates and terms. It offers regular savings deposits (consisting of passbook and statement savings accounts), interest-bearing demand accounts, non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits. Business Strategy The company’s growth strategy is to capitalize on its knowledge of the local banking market; continue to originate traditional one-to-four-family real estate loans for resale, as well as continue to diversify the loan portfolio into higher yield multi-family, non-residential, construction, and commercial loan markets and provide various deposit products to its customer base; provide superior, highly personalized, and prompt service to its customers; offer competitive rates and develop customer relationships to attract new deposits and maintain its