C4 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY11, 2017 LATIMES.COM/BUSINESS
Legend:Rates effective as of 1/9/17 and may change without notice. All institutions are FDIC or NCUA insured. Rates may change after the ac-
count is opened. N/A means rates are not available or not offered at press time.Yields represent annual percentage yield (APY) paid by participat-
ing institutions. Fees may reduce the earnings on the account.Apenalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Banks, Thrifts and credit unions
pay to advertise in this guide which is compiled by Bankrate.com®,apublication of Bankrate, LLC.©2017.•http://latimes.interest.comBankrate.com® NationalIndex&Trends
Bankrate National Index&Deposit trendsare based onanational surveyofl arge lendersconductedweekly.Toc onduct theNational Indexsurvey,Bankrateobtains rate information from the
10 largestbanks and thriftsin10large U.S.markets. Bankrate has conducted this survey inthe same manner for almost 20years,and because it’s consistentlydone thewayiti s, it givesanac-
curate national apples-to -applescomparison.Source:Bankrate.com®.Formorecomprehensive, objectiveand free personalfinance information goto Bankrate.com–www.bankrate.comSeehow earnings onyour certifica tesofdepositare performing against the Bankrate
NationalIndex by using the chartbelow.Calculate the return onyour deposit$100,000 Deposit$1,000 DepositForinter activecalculators visit http://www.bankrate.com6MoCD0.19%$0.95
1YrCD0.32% $3.21
5YrCD0.85% $43.421MoJumbo CD 0.09% $7.50
3MoJumbo CD 0.14% $35.01
6MoJumbo CD 0.21% $105.05Depositterm AveragerateInteres tearnedTheprimerate,asr epor tedbythe Wall Street Journal’s bank survey,isamongthemost
widelyused benchmarkinsetti ng home equity lines of credit andcreditcardrates.Itis
in turn based onthefed fundsrate, which isset by theFederalReserve. TheCOFI (11th
Districtcost of fundsindex)isa widelyusedbenchmarkforadjustable-rate mortgages.Cost of Funds Index&Bankrate NationalIndexPrime Rate FederalFunds Rate*11th DistrictCOFBankrate NationalIndex
6MoCD1Yr CD 5YrCD*The current FedFund rate is arange between 0.00%-0.25%.This week 3.75 0.75 0.603
3.50 0.50 0.598
3.50 0.5 00.644This week 0.19 0.32 0.85
Last week 0.19 0.31 0.83
Last year 0.16 0.27 0.84Last yearLast changeInt ChkingMoney 3mo6mo 12 mo 18 mo 24 mo 36 mo 60 mo
Acct Mkt Acct CD CD CD CD CD CD CD
Institution Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Phone/WebsiteLA Times
Check rates daily at http://latimes.interest.comCommunity
CommerceBankNA NA 0.20 0.60 1.00 NA 1.21 1.31 1.76
NA NA 10,000 10,000 10,000 NA 10,000 10,000 10,000 909-625-7891
MemberFDIC,PenaltyforEarlyW/D,APY’saccurateasof01-11-17 http://www.ccombank.com0.05 0.05 0.35 0.60 0.80 0.80 1.20 1.35 2.00
12,500 1, 000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000877-320-3598
KinectaFederalCreditUnion FederallyInsuredbyNCUA.Membershiprequirementsapply. http://www.kinecta.orgNA 0.85 NA NA 1.25 1.25 1.45 1.50 1.85
NA 30 NA NA 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 25,000 800-869-3813
SynchronyBank GreatRates+Safet y=PeaceofMind. MemberFDIC. http://www.myoptimizerplus.comTheNasdaqcomposite
index notched its fourth
record-high close ina row
Tuesday,eking outamodest
gain ona day when the other
major U.S. stock indexes
barely budged.
The Standard &Poor’s
500 index closed unchanged,
whiletheDowJonesindus-
trialaverage posteda slight
loss.More stocks rose than
fell on the New York Stock
Exchange.
Consumer-focusedcom-
panies, banks and health-
care stocks wereamong the
biggest gainers. Real estate
companies lagged the most.
Energystocksfellfollowinga
drop in crude oil prices.
Encouraging reports on
small-business confidence
and job openings helped
keep stocks in the green
early in the day. But later,
the indexes beganto waver.
“I do think the market
stays kindof quietuntil it
really hits earnings season,”
said David Chalupnik, head
of e quities forNuveen Asset
Management.
Although the busiest
stretchof the nextcorporate
earnings season doesn’tbe-
gin until Friday, several
firmsreported outlooks or
preliminary results Tuesday
that pleased investors.
Illuminajumped16.6% to
$165.04 after it reported bet-
ter-than-expected fourth-
quartersales.TheSanDiego
companyals o launched a
new genetic sequencing sys-
tem calledNovaSeq.
Alaska Air Group rose
5.2% to $92 after the air line,
which bought Virgin Ameri-
ca in December, reported
strong monthlyresults.
Zimmer Biomet climbed
6.2%to$113.67afterthemedi-
cal device maker projected
better-than-expected
fourth-quarter sales.
Otherfirms’outlooksput
traders ina selling mood.
Ascena Retail Group
slumped10% to $5.41 after
the company slashed its
profit forecast, citing holi-
day seasonsales, which fell
for most of its store chains,
including AnnTaylor, Lane
Bryant and Dressbarn.
Meanwhile, investors
boosted Pacific Continental
on news that the holding
company for Pacific Conti-
nental Bank will be bought
by Columbia Banking Sys-
tem for $644 million. Pacific
Continental shares leaped
25.7% to $26.15. Columbia
shares slid 2.9%to $42. 05.
ValeantPharmaceuticals
jumped6.8% to $16.40 after
the Canadian drugmaker
saiditwillsell$2billioninas-
sets to pay down debt.
U.S. benchmark crude oil
fell $1.14, or 2.2%, to $50.82 a
barrel. Brent crude fell$1.30,
or 2.4%,to $53.64 a barrel.
Bondpricesfell.Theyield
on the10-year Treasury note
rose to 2.38%from 2.37%.
The pound held steady at
$1.2163. The dollar fell to
115.73 yen from Monday’s
116.06. The euro fell to $1.0 560
from $1.0577.
Goldedgedup60centsto
$1,1 85.5 0 an ounce. Silver
rose 17 cents to $16.85 an
ounce. Copperrose 7 cents
to $2.61 a pound.Index
Dow industrials
S&P 500
Nasdaqcomposite
S&P 400
Russell 2000
EuroStoxx50
Nikkei(Japan)
HangSeng(Hong Kong)CloseDaily
changeDaily % YTD %19,855.53 -31.85-0.16 +0.47
2,268.90—-+1.34
5,551.82+20.00 +0.36 +3.13
1,681.10 +10.86 +0.65 +1.24
1,370.90 +13.41 +0.99 +1.01
3,038.88+2.17 +0.07 +0.94
19,301.44 -152.89 -0.79 +0.98
22,744.85 +186.16 +0.83 +3.38Majorstock indexes
change changeSource: APMARKETROUNDUP
Nasdaq at record
for 4th day in row
associated press
floor and usingFacebook to
challengetheRepublicanre-
peal effort. In a play on
Trump’s signature cam-
paign line, Democrats say
the GOP strategy would
“make America sick again.”
Activists planneda na-
tional effort Tuesdayto get
Americansto call members
of Congress and urge them
to vote against legislation
that would roll back the law.
“This is as importantto
us asa presidential cam-
paign,” said Mary Kay
Henry, presidentoftheServ-
ice Employees International
Union,whose2millionmem-
bers playeda centralrole
in helpingpass Obamacare
and are expectedto be cru-
cial in defending it.
The order is daunting.
Republicans, who will
control both the White
House and Congress for the
firsttimeinmorethana dec-
ade, credit their victories in
part to a relentless cam-
paign against Obamacare.
And with some Americans
struggling with large insur-
ance premiums, GOP law-
makers have had no trouble
finding horror storiesto bol-
ster theirrepeal effort.
“Obamacare is ripping
apart at the seams, and
things are only getting
worse,” Rep. Diane Black
(R-Tenn.) said in the party’s
weekly radio address. The
Tennessee insurance mar-
ket has experienced someof
the worst turmoil in the
country over the lastyear.
At the sametime, Demo-
crats have takena hands-off
approachtothelawinrecent
years,waryofbeinglinkedto
its struggles. But as this new
chapterinthehealthcarede-
bate begins,theyhave some
key advantages.
“Democrats whowereal-
ways a little squirrely on ro-
bustly defending the Afford-
able Care Act are on very
firm ground infightingre-
peal,”Sen. ChristopherS.
Murphy (D-Conn.) said.
Though publicopi nion
about Obamacare is still
split, most provisions of the
law are extremelypopular,
even with Republicanvot-ers. That may fuela major
backlash if the GOP moves
to take themaway.
Eight in 10 Americans in
another poll saythey like
provisions in the law that
eliminate out-of-pocket
costs for many preventive
services such as cancer
screenings or provide fed-
eral aid to states so they can
expandMedicaidcoverage
for poor patients.
The same strong major-
itysupportsthelaw’ssystem
of insurance marketplaces,
such as HealthCare.gov, in
which people who don’tget
coverage through an em-
ployer can shop for health
plans. And 80% of Ameri-
cans favor the government
subsidies provided through
the law to help low- and
moderate-income people
buy insurance.
GOP leaders have called
for majorcutbacks in Medi-
caid and a fundamental
change in insurance rules
thatwould guarantee cov-
erage only for people who
didn’t have gaps incove rage.
Republicans alsowould no
longerrequire insu rers to of-
fer basic benefits.
Democrats planto prom-
inently feature peoplewho
standto lose some of these
protections if the law is
scrapped.
President Obama, in an
interviewlast week with
newswebsite Vox, calledout
Natoma Canfield, a cancer
survivorwho struggled to
obtainaffordable insurance
before the law was enacted.
“When most people,even
if they’re not Obama sup-
porters,hearNatoma’sstory
or the stories of other people
who have been helped, they
know it’s wrong to just take
away their healthcare,”
Obama said.
At a meeting withcon-
gressional Democrats last
week, the president encour-
aged lawmakersto look at
the successful approach the
nascent tea party move-
menttook in 2009and 2010
against Obamacare —in-
cludingflooding lawmakers’
town hall meetings in their
districts.
Also aiding the Obama-care defensecould be the
GOP’s interest in making
broader changesto other
popular safety net pro-
grams, includingMedicaid
and Medicare.
Medicare providescov-
eragetomorethan50million
elderly and disabled Ameri-
cans. AndMedicaidcovers
more than70 million poor
children, adults and seniors,
manyof whom depend on
the program for nursing
homecove rage.
Leading Republicans —
including House Speaker
PaulRyan(R-Wis.)andRep.
Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s
picktobehealthsecretary—
have advocatedbig cuts in
the programs that probably
would slashcove rage for the
poor and shift more health-
care costs onto seniors.
“Thisisnotjustaboutthe
Affordable Care Act,” said
Richard Kirsch, former na-
tional campaign manager of
Health Care for America
Now, a coalitionof liberal
grass-roots group s that
playeda pivotal role in help-
ing pass Obamacare in 2009
and201 0.
“They are talking about
replacingMedicare,cutting
funding for Medicaid....This
would be devastatingto af-
fordability and accessibility
of healthcare for millions of
Americans.”
Kirsch is helpingrestart
the campaign, which has al-
ready organized demon-
strations in19 states.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-
Dublin), who is leading mes-
sagingefforts foryounger
voters on Obamacare, said
the fate of the entitlement
programs will also figu re
prominently in Democratic
lawmakers’ efforts.
“More thanever, the fam-
ily’s income is tiedtoge ther,”
he said, summarizing the
message as: “Don’t end my
mom’s Medicare. Don’ttake
my dad’s healthcare.... If our
parents’ healthcare security
isinjeopardy,thewholefam-
ily’s financial security is in
jeopardy.”[email protected]
michael.memoli
@latimes.comNationwide campaign to
save Obamacare ramps up
[Obamacare,from C1]scandal broke, the bank has
reported lower customer-
satisfaction scores and a
sharp drop i n the number of
new account openings. In
November, Wells Fargo
openedabout300,000check-
ing accounts, down from
500,000 accountsope ned in
November 2015 — evidence
that the bank hasa long way
to go torebuild itsreputa-
tion with existing and
would-be customers.
By givingworkers credit
onlyforaccountsthatareac-
tive and still in useafter sev-
eral months, executives
probably hopeto prevent
employees from opening un-
authorized accounts to
game the incentive system.
Regulators found that
workers not only created ac-
counts withoutcustomers’
knowledge butals o some-
times forged signatures, cre-
atedfakecustomeremailad-
dresses and even moved
money from existing ac-
counts into new, unauthor-
izedones, all in an attempt
to showthattheywere open-
ing enough new accountsto
meetoneroussales goals.
Though the new ince n-
tive system isa big change
for Wells Fargo, it is similar
to incentivesystemsatother
banks, including JPMorgan
Chaseand Bank of America,
which alreadygive employ-
ees creditonly for actively
used accounts.
UndertheoldWellsFargo
system,wor kers could get
credit for openinga savings
account oncea minimum
deposit of $25was made,
even if that money came
fromanotherWellsFargo ac-
count andeven if theac-
count sat unused afterward.
At Chase,workers get credit
for openinga savings ac-
count only if thecustomer
deposits at least $1,000
withintwo months— and
that money can’tcome from
another Chase account.
At both Chase and Bank
of America, workers get
credit forope ninga credit
card account only after theaccount has been used. At
Wells Fargo, workers got
credit oncea card was is-
sued,a system that former
employees said encouraged
some bankersto apply for
credits cards oncustomers’
behalf without authoriza-
tion.
Along with account us-
age, Wells Fargo workers will
be scored based oncus-
tomer service surveys done
by Gallup and by mystery
shoppers who visit bank
branches.
As part of the new incen-
tivesystem,wor kerswillalso
get more base pay and less
incentiveandbonuspay.For
tellers, about 95% of pay will
be base pay. The bank said
last week that itwould boost
the pay forits lowest-level
workers to between $13.50
and $17 per hour, depending
on geographyand experi-
ence.
Wells Fargo executives
have explained the new in-
centive systemto regional
executivesand district man-
agersand,over the next few
weeks, will provide details of
theplantobranchmanagers
andwor kers, bank spokes-
womanMaryEshet said.
The bank providedatwo-
page summary of the plantothe Los Angeles Times and
other media outletsTues-
day, but corporate compen-
sation plans can be hun-
dreds of pages long.
Margaret Kane, founder
ofbanksalesconsultingfirm
Kane Bank Services, said
the plan seemsto address
the biggest problems un-
earthed by the accounts
scandal— largely by elimi-
nating incentives for open-
ing accounts that aren’t
used. Still, she said it’s not
clearhowWellsFargowillset
goals for branches and em-
ployees.
“How are theygoing to
define a job well done?
That’s whatwe don’t know,”
she said. “What they’re do-
ing istotally theway they
should begoing, butthedev-
il is in the details.”
Forinstance,becausethe
new plan hasa greater focus
on customer service sur-
veys, Kane said it might
pushwor kers to pressure
customers into givinggood
reviews.
“That has happened in
other industries— you see it
in hospitality,” she said. “I
thinkcustomer service is
one that they’llwant to keep
an eye on.”
Mack acknowledged thatWells Fargo still has wor k to
do to restor e its image, say-
ing the new compensation
plan is “an answer, not the
answer.”
“This isjust one stepto
restor e trust,” she said.
As itworksto restore
trust withconsumers, the
bankremains under investi-
gation bya handful of state
and federalagencies, includ-
ing the California Depart-
ment ofJustice, theU.S. De-
partment ofLabor and the
Securities and Exchange
Commission. It’s a list that
has steadily grown over the
last few months.
In December,stateinsur-
ance regulatorsin California
andNew Jersey said they
wouldprobethebank’ssales
practices after former em-
ployees of insurer Pruden-
tial filed a lawsuit contend-
ing thatWells Fargo wor kers
pushed Prudential policies
on customers who did not
want them.
Wells Fargo is set to re-
portitsquarterlyresultsFri-
day, when it isexpectedto
give more details about the
compensation plan.[email protected]
This Associated Press
contributedto this report.Bank revamps employee
compensation system
ASPARTOFWells Fargo’s new incentive system,workers willget more base pay
and less incentive and bonus pay. Above, a bank branch in San Francisco.JustinSullivanGetty Images[WellsFargo,from C1]German automaker
Volkswagen said Tuesday
that it was in “advanced
talks”withUnitedStatesau-
thorities over a proposed
settlement in its diesel emis-
sionsscandal under which
the companywould pay $4.3
billion in criminal and civil
fines.
The dra ft settlement
with the U.S. Department of
Justice andU.S. Customs
and Border Protection
would include the appoint-
ment of an independent
monitorto oversee the com-
pany’s compliance andcon-
trol measures for three
years.
Acompany statement
Tuesday said that under the
proposal, Volkswagenwould
agree to “a guilty plea”to
criminal law provisions.
Thedra ft would needto
be approved by Volks-
wagen’s boards and byU.S.
courts.Volkswagen said its
management board of top
executives, which includes
Chief Executive Matthias
Mueller, and its board of di-
rectorswould deal with the
issue “in the very short
term,” as soon asTuesday or
Wednesday.
“A final conclusion of the
settlement agreement is fur-
ther subject to the execution
by thecompetent U.S. au-
thoritiesand to the approval
of the competent U.S.
courts,” the company said.
The penaltieswould ex-
ceed the amounts Volks-
wagen has set asideto cover
costs from the scandal, but
the specific impact on 20 16
earnings “cannot be defined
at present,” the statement
said. Volkswagen already
had deducted$19. 2 billion
from earnings to account for
the expectedcosts offines,settlements and recalls.
The company has admit-
ted to equipping diesel cars
withsoftwarethatturnedup
emissionscontrols when the
car was beingtested,and
turned them down during
normal driving, improving
engine performance but ex-
ceedingemission limits.
Despite the scandal,
Volkswagen standsa decent
chance of being theworld’s
top-selling automaker of
2016.
Booming business in
China helpedVolkswagen’s
salesclimbto10.31millionve-
hicles lastyear across all its
brands, which includeAudi,
Porsche and Skoda, the
company saidTuesday.
Thatwas up 3.8% from
2015,whenVolkswagencame
in secondto Toyota. Neither
Toyota northe other likely
contender, GeneralMotors,
hasreported full-year 20 16
salesfig uresyet.VWto pay $4.3 billion in fines
under proposed deal in scandal
associated press