Finance
New Carrboro Finance Director Bret Greene assumes role
On Jan. 2, Bret Greene assumed his new role as finance director for the Town of Carrboro.
In this role, Greene supervises financial operations and reporting of all municipal funds, such as the Town’s budget, audit and debt management.
After spending numerous years in the for-profit sector, Greene said he applied because he wanted to transition to more service-oriented work.
“It seemed an amicable fit, and an opportunity for both my personal and professional growth, as well as, more importantly, to benefit and solidify the strong foundation that the Town of Carrboro already laid in place with their financial outlook,” he said.
Greene also said he chose the job to set a good example for his family. He said he wants to be able to stand behind something that adds to the community, taking a selfless approach to what a career means.
Michael Cox, the director of asset management for Bell Partners, said Greene is a family guy, always making sure he is giving them the attention they need and is involved with their day-to-day activities. Cox said one of Greene’s main values is his relationships.
“He’s always going to have a smile,” Cox said. “He’s always going to give you some positive encouragement in any type of situation. It’s just the nature of who he is.”
Greene served as director of financial planning and analysis at Highwood Properties, a real estate investment trust company based in Raleigh, for 16 years. Greene said he managed a staff of 11 employees and oversaw areas including financial forecasting, capital improvement plans and customer service.
“The budgeting and the planning will be nailed to the penny,” Jim Bacchetta, the former senior vice president of Highwood Properties, said. “I think he will bring pragmatism and private sector experience to bear and make sure that the dollars are spent as they’re supposed to be spent as efficiently as possible. You couldn’t have a better guy in that position to steward that budget.”
Regions Financial Corp. has expanded its municipal finance and investment banking business with the acquisition of Montgomery-based The Frazer Lanier Company, a firm that has advised Alabama governments, schools and universities on financing for nearly 50 years.
The Birmingham-based bank announced Thursday that it has closed on the acquisition of Frazer Lanier, a full-service investment banking firm specializing in municipal and corporate securities. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1976, Frazer Lanier has built its business by advising corporations, cities, counties and other public entities on financing projects while serving as an underwriter or placement agent for tax-exempt and taxable bond offerings. Ultimately, the firm helps governments, school systems, universities and other organizations raise money for public projects through bond offerings and other financing strategies.
The Montgomery firm also maintains offices in Birmingham and Florence and says it has served thousands of public and private clients throughout the country.
Along with serving municipalities, Frazer Lanier’s published client list includes the Alabama State Board of Education, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Auburn University, the University of South Alabama and Alabama State University, along with numerous city and county school systems across Alabama.
Regions said the acquisition supports its strategy of expanding investment banking capabilities and strengthening services for public-sector, corporate and institutional clients. The company said combining Frazer Lanier’s experience with its Corporate Banking and Capital Markets divisions will expand its municipal finance capabilities and provide clients with broader access to capital markets solutions.
“Two of our top priorities at Regions Bank are strategically expanding our services and investing in top-tier banking talent,” said John Turner, chairman, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corp. “By welcoming experienced bankers from Frazer Lanier to the Regions family, we are connecting Regions’ clients with even greater capabilities while advancing our long-term strategy for growth.”
Frazer Lanier will become part of Regions Bank’s Capital Markets division within the company’s Corporate Banking group.
“There’s a natural fit here,” said Brian Willman, head of Corporate Banking for Regions. “Frazer Lanier has built trust by staying close to clients and helping them navigate important decisions. That’s exactly how we approach relationships at Regions. Together, we can expand that model by bringing more ideas, more capabilities and more connectivity to clients across our markets.”
Regions, which has approximately $161 billion in assets, said the acquisition will strengthen its ability to serve municipalities, corporations and institutional clients across its multi-state footprint while expanding its municipal finance and investment banking services.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
Retirement is often associated with greater freedom and the opportunity to enjoy the rewards of decades of work. But for many people, the transition from earning a regular pay cheque to relying on pensions and savings can feel less like a gentle glide and more like standing at the edge of a financial cliff-edge.
A YouGov survey of 6,224 UK adults found that 55% reported that they were concerned about running out of money in retirement and, among these worried respondents, 63% were under 50 years old.
However, the good news is that avoiding a financial retirement cliff-edge isn’t about having extraordinary wealth – it’s about making informed decisions before and throughout retirement.
We spoke to Susan Hope, retirement expert and business development director at Scottish Widows, who shared the following nine practical steps to help you build a retirement plan that can weather life’s uncertainties and give you greater confidence that your retirement years will be defined by peace of mind rather than financial stress.
1. Understand what state pension and credits you are entitled to
“Make sure the cornerstone of your financial retirement income is covered by the state and you’ve got everything you’re entitled to,” advises Hope. “If you go onto the HMRC app you can find out really quickly when your state pension age is and what you are due to get.
“Another important thing to look at on the app is a year-by-year breakdown of your national insurance contributions.”
Hope recommends going back through your working years to make sure that you’ve got credits for every period because if you weren’t working due to unemployment, illness, or were caring for someone, you may be entitled to national insurance credits.
They help ensure you qualify for certain benefits, most notably the state pension, during periods when you weren’t working, were earning too little to pay National Insurance, or were claiming specific benefits.
2. Locate any lost or missing pension pots
“I have a huge bee in my bonnet about the £31 billion of untraced pensions that we have in the UK,” says Hope. “Go back through your LinkedIn or your CV and make sure that none of that £31 billion is languishing somewhere, because that is your money to have.”
Once you know the name of your previous employer or your old pension provider, you can use the government’s free Pension Tracing Service to help find lost pension pots.
3. Look at the UK’s different retirement living standards
“I think it’s really useful to look at the UK’s retirement living standards, because that will give you an idea of how much you’re going to need in retirement, depending on what type of retirement you want to live,” recommends Hope.
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