Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products.

Capital One is the eighth-largest bank holding company in the United States when ranked by assets and deposits. The bank has 812 branches including 10 café style locations for its Capital One 360 brand and 2,000 ATMs. Capital One Financial is ranked #112 on the Fortune 500, and also conducts business in Canada and the United Kingdom. The company helped pioneer the mass marketing of credit cards in the 1990s, and as of 2003 it was the fourth-largest customer of the United States Postal Service.

Its corporate offices are located in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

In 2015, 62% of the company's revenues were from credit cards, 28% was from consumer banking, and 10% was from commercial banking.

History

Monoline credit card company (1994-2004)

On July 27, 1994, Richmond, Virginia-based Signet Financial Corp announced the spin off of its credit card division, OakStone Financial, naming Richard Fairbank as CEO (Signet Banking Corp is now part of Wells Fargo). Signet renamed the subsidiary Capital One in October of that year. The spinoff was concluded February 28, 1995, making Capital One fully independent.

Unlike other diversified financial services firms, Capital One began as a "monoline", meaning the vast majority of its business was in consumer lending, particularly credit cards. Remaining a monoline is risky, as it can be very profitable industry in good times, and markedly unprofitable in bad. Most consumer-lending monolines in the past twenty years have either gone out of business (e.g., The Money Store, NextCard, Royal Acceptance) or have been acquired (e.g., MBNA, Beneficial, First USA); Capital One is notable for having experienced neither.

Capital One attributed its relative success as a monoline to its use of data collection to build demographic profiles, allowing it to target personalized offers of credit direct to consumers.

In 1999, Capital One was looking to expand beyond credit cards. CEO Richard Fairbank announced moves to use Capital One's experience with collecting consumer data to offer loans, insurance, and phone service.

Expansion into retail banking (2005-present)

While many other monolines were acquired by larger, diverse banks, Capital One expanded into retail banking with a focus on subprime customers. This was accomplished through the acquisition of several retail banks. Capital One acquired New Orleans, Louisiana-based Hibernia National Bank in 2005, Melville, New York-based North Fork Bancorporation, and Chevy Chase Bank in 2008.

During the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis, Capital One closed its mortgage platform, GreenPoint Mortgage, due in part to investor pressures. Capital One Financial Corporation received US$3.56 billion from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. On June 17, 2009, Capital One finished buying back the stock the company issued to the U.S. Treasury paying a total of US$3.67 billion. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has criticized Capital One's conduct during the crisis, claiming that the company failed to provide accurate reporting of the losses they incurred. Capital One was required to pay $3.5 million in penalty, but has not been required to directly address the allegations of wrongdoing.

In June 2011, ING announced the sale of its American ING Direct division to Capital One for cash and shares worth US$9 billion. On August 26, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors announced it would hold public hearings on the Capital One acquisition of ING Direct, and extend to October 12, 2011, the public comment period that had been scheduled to end August 22. The move came amidst rising scrutiny of the deal on systemic risk, or "Too-Big-to-Fail," performance under the Community Reinvestment Act, and pending legal challenges. A coalition of national civil rights and consumer groups, led by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, were joined by Rep. Barney Frank to challenge immediate approval of the deal. The groups have argued that the acquisition is a test of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, under which systemically risky firms must demonstrate a public benefit that outweighs new risk before they are allowed to grow. Kansas City Fed eral Reserve Bank head Thomas M. Hoenig was also skeptical of the deal. In February 2012, the acquisition was approved by regulators, and Capital One completed its acquisition of ING Direct. Capital One received permission to merge ING into its business in October 2012, and rebranded ING Direct as Capital One 360 in November 2012.

In August 2011, Capital One reached a deal with HSBC to acquire its U.S. credit card operations. Capital One paid US$31.3 billion in exchange for US$28.2 billion in loans and $600 million in other assets. The acquisition was completed by May 2012.

In July 2012, Capital One was fined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for misleading millions of its customers, such as paying extra for payment protection or credit monitoring when they took out a card. The company agreed to pay $210 million to settle the legal action against them and to refund two million customers. This was the CFPB's first public enforcement action. In August 2014, Capital One and three collection agencies entered into an agreement to pay $75.5 million to end a consolidated class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleging that the companies used an automated dialer to call customers’ cellphones without consent, which is a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. It is notable that this legal action involved informational telephone calls, which are not subject to the "prior express written consent" requirements which ha ve been in place for telemarketing calls since October 2013.

Like many other retail banks, Capital One has been slowly decreasing its number of physical locations. In 2012, the bank closed 41 locations and opened 2.

On July 8, 2015, Capital announced that it has acquired Monsoon, a design studio, development shop, marketing house and strategic consultancy.

In August 2015, Capital One agreed to acquire General Electric Co.'s Healthcare Financial Services unit for USD $9-billion. The transaction involves USD $8.5-billion of loans made to a wide array of sectors including senior housing, hospitals, medical offices, outpatient services, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

In October 2016, Capital One acquired Paribus, a price tracking service, for an undisclosed amount.

2014 terms of service

In 2014, Capital One amended its terms of service to create a right for it to "contact you in any manner we choose", including a "personal visit . . . at your home and at your place of employment." It also asserted its right to "modify or suppress caller ID and similar services and identify ourselves on these services in any manner we choose." Los Angeles Times writer David Lazarus commented that "Cap One has made deliberate decisions that seem intended to overreach and intimidate, confirming in the eyes of many the company's thoughtlessness and occasional ruthlessness". Emily Rusch, the executive director of the California Public Interest Research Group, found the company's assertion of a right to "spoof" Caller ID particularly disturbing, saying "Now more than ever, consumers need to be able to trust companies".

Capital One spokeswoman Pam Girardo told the Times that the company would not actually make personal visits to customers except "As a last resort, . . . if it becomes necessary to repossess [a] sports vehicle". Capital One also attributed its assertion of a right to "spoof" as necessary because "sometimes the number is 'displayed differently' by 'some local phone exchanges,' something that is 'beyond our control'".

Girardo told the New York Times that the company was "reviewing" the language involved. David Lazarus noted that "now that a little sunlight has been applied, the company is not as comfortable as it previously was with behaving like a total maniac. In the meantime, cardholders can make up their own minds. Do they want to believe the non-binding explanations of a company representative or the legally enforceable language that's currently in their written contracts?"

Divisions

Capital One Auto Finance

Capital One Auto Financial Corporation is the parent company of Capital One Auto Finance Company, based in Plano, Texas. The company includes Summit Acceptance Corporation, which Capital One acquired in July 1998, and PeopleFirst Finance LLC, which was acquired in October 2001. The companies were combined and rebranded as Capital One Auto Finance Corporation in 2003. As of 2012, Capital One Auto Finance is the largest Internet auto lender, as well as one of the top US auto lenders overall.

The company, which used to sell auto loans only through direct mail and auto dealerships, lets auto owners refinance existing auto loans and shoppers apply for new auto loans online. A decision usually comes within 15 minutes, after which the buyer receives a "blank check" for up to the approved auto loan amount, which the buyer uses to purchase a car. To the dealership, it is as if the buyer were paying cash. The checks can be used to purchase a new or used vehicle, or to refinance an existing auto loan with another lender.

CapitalOne 360

CapitalOne 360 is an online banking division of Capital One. The division originated in a separate company, ING Direct, which was founded in 2000 in Wilmington, Delaware as a brand for a branchless direct bank. In September 2007, ING Direct acquired 104,000 customers and FDIC insured assets from the failed virtual bank NetBank. Two months later, ING Direct acquired online stock broker Sharebuilder.

Capital One National Direct Bank

This is the online banking services from Capital One which used to offer various depository services such as checking accounts and money market accounts. This division of Capital One is no longer accepting new customers due to the acquisition of ING Direct and the introduction of Capital One 360. Various partnerships and promotions on these accounts were offered by Costco.

In June 2011, Capital One Financial Corporation purchased ING Direct USA from its Netherlands based parent, ING Group, paying US$9 billion (€6.3 billion). The sale was completed on June 16, 2011, with the CEO of ING Group at that time Jan Hommen saying the sale "marks a further important step in the restructuring of ING Group. Yet at the same time we are saying goodbye to a very successful business and a dedicated team...". Following the acquisition, ING direct was rebranded Capital One 360.

Level Money

In January 2015 Capital One acquired Level Money, a budgeting app for consumers. The app will remain a standalone application.

Paribus

In October 2016 Capital One acquired Paribus, a price tracking service for consumers. The app will remain a standalone application.

Divisions in Canada and the United Kingdom

Capital One commenced operations in Canada in 1996. Its head office is located in Toronto, Ontario at the North York Centre at Yonge Street & Finch Avenue. Unlike its diversified American parent, the Canadian business does not operate outside of the credit card market. In October 2008, Capital One Canada was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.

The UK headquarters of Capital One is in Nottingham. Capital One in the UK is associated with customers with poor credit rating and very high APR credit cards, up to 35%. The company was once active in Spain, Italy, France and South Africa, but has since withdrawn from these markets.

Sports marketing

Since 2001, Capital One has been the principal sponsor of the college football Florida Citrus Bowl, rebranding it the Capital One Bowl in 2003. It sponsors a mascot challenge every year, announcing the winner on the day of the Capital One Bowl. Capital One is one of the top three sponsors of the NCAA, paying an estimated $35 million annually in exchange for advertising and access to consumer data. Capital One also sponsored an English soccer cup competition, known as the Capital One Cup, from 2012 to 2016.

Experiments and agreements

USPS agreements

In late 2002, Capital One and the United States Postal Service proposed a then-experimental negotiated services agreement for bulk discount in mailing services. The resulting three-year agreement was extended in 2006. In June 2008, however, Capital One had filed a complaint with the USPS regarding the terms of the next agreement, citing the terms of the NSA of Capital One's competitor, Bank of America. Capital One subsequently withdrew its complaint to the Postal Regulatory Commission following a settlement with the USPS.

Isis Mobile Wallet payment

On February 26, 2012, along with several other banks, Capital One announced support for the Isis Mobile Wallet payment system. However, in September 2013, Capital One dropped support for the venture.

ClearXchange

On February 19, 2014, Capital One became ¼ owner in ClearXchange;, a P2P (person to person) money transfer service designed to make money transfers to customers within the same bank and other financial institutions via mobile phone number or email address. The service will be available to Capital One Bank customers in the 2nd half of 2014. ClearXchange's other owners include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase.

Decoupled debit card

In May 2007, the company began an experiment that came to be known as a decoupled debit card. This card is novel in that prior to this launch, a debit card was always tied to a traditional financial institution, such as a bank or credit union.

CapitalOne's Visa-branded decoupled card did not require that an account be opened with a "merchant" financial institution, and was made in partnership with the Ukrop's Super Markets, a Richmond-based grocery-store chain, and Sheetz, a regional gas-station and convenience-store chain. The Ukrops card was also tied to the grocer's reward program.

That one-year experiment ended in May 2008, and was followed up with a national rollout of its own version of a decoupled debit card tied to its own reward program.

Charity

Capital One operates some charitable programs, such as the "No Hassle Giving" web portal, in which Capital One covers the transaction fees on customer and non-customer donations made through the site. The accountability organization National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has been highly critical of Capital One's relatively low rate of giving, stating that "Capital One's philanthropic track record is dismal". The organization pointed out that Capital One's donations of 0.024% of revenue were much less than the industry median of 0.11% of revenue. Capital One has disputed the groups figures, saying that "... In 2011 alone, our giving totals are more than 6 times greater ($30 million) than the number given by the NCRP".

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The Government of Los Angeles operates as a charter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the Charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the Mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor-council government, as well as several other elective offices. The current mayor is Eric Garcetti, the current City Attorney is Mike Feuer and the current City Controller is Ron Galperin.

In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

Organization

The government of the city of Los Angeles includes the following city officers:

• Mayor
• Members of the Council
• City Attorney
• City Clerk
• Controller
• Treasurer
• The members of the boards or commissions of the departments and the chief administrative officer of each department and office
• An Executive Director of the Board of Police Commissioners
• Other officers as prescribed by ordinance

Mayor

The Mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city. He is elected for a four-year term, and limited to serving no more than two terms. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. The 42nd and current Mayor is Eric Garcetti.

City Council

The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of Los Angeles. The council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms and limited to three terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the council at the first regular meeting after June 30 in odd-numbered years. An assistant president pro tempore is appointed by the president. The current president of the Los Angeles City Council is Herb Wesson, the president pro tempore is Mitchell Englander and the assistant president pro tempore is Nury Martinez.

Regular council meetings are held in the City Hall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 am except on holidays or if decided by special resolution.

Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) polices the city of Los Angeles. It is governed by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners and the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The city also maintains specialized police agencies; the Port Police, within the Harbor Department (which is responsible for land, air and sea law enforcement services at the Port of Los Angeles), Los Angeles City Park Rangers, within the Parks and Recreation Department (which are responsible for security and fire protection in Griffith Park, and the Airport Police, within the Los Angeles World Airports Department (which is responsible for law enforcement services for the 2 city-owned airports; Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Van Nuys Airport (VNY)). The Los Angeles General Services Police, which provided police coverage for Los Angeles city owned property and parks (except for Griffith Park) was absorbed into the LAPD in 2012. The Los Angeles Unified School District maintains it own separate police department, as do many other school districts and college campuses within the city.

Neighborhood councils

The Charter of the City of Los Angeles ratified by voters in 1999 created a system of advisory neighborhood councils that would represent the diversity of stakeholders, defined as those who live, work or own property in the neighborhood. The neighborhood councils are relatively autonomous and spontaneous in that they identify their own boundaries, establish their own bylaws, and elect their own officers. There are currently about 90 neighborhood councils.

They have been criticized as a shill for charter reform.

Other

The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official whose job is legal counsel for the city and may prosecute misdemeanor criminal offenses within the city. The Los Angeles City Clerk is in charge of record keeping for the city and elections. The Los Angeles City Controller is the elected auditor and chief accounting officer of the city. The Los Angeles City Treasurer handles financial matters.

In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the:

• Los Angeles City Clerk
• Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD)
• Office of Finance
• Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD)
• Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA)
• Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA)
• Port of Los Angeles
  • Los Angeles Port Police
• Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)
• Department of Recreation and Parks
• Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)
  • Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners

Elections

The most recent elections were in May 2013, with 13th district City Councilman Eric Garcetti defeating City Controller Wendy Greuel for Mayor. The voter turnout was about 19% of registered voters, one of the lowest turnouts on record, with Garcetti garnering about 54% of the votes.

Law

The Charter of the City of Los Angeles is the founding document of Los Angeles. Pursuant to its Charter, all legislative power is vested in the Council and is exercised by ordinance subject to a veto by the Mayor.

Pursuant to this power, the Council has caused to be promulgated the Administrative Code, consisting of administrative and procedural ordinances, and the Municipal Code, consisting of codified regulatory and penal ordinances. Violations of the ordinances are misdemeanor crimes unless otherwise specified as an infraction and may be prosecuted by city authorities.

Other governments

California

The Los Angeles Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles is also part of Los Angeles County, for which the Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. The County government is primarily composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer.

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LGD may refer to:

• LGD Gaming, a Chinese eSports team
• LG Display
• Loss given default
• The FAA identifier for La Grande/Union County Airport in La Grande, Oregon
• Livestock guardian dog
• Local Government District; an abbreviation used on Ordnance Survey maps

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Robert Half, most recently, Robert Half International, is an American human resource consulting firm based in Menlo Park, California. It is a member of the S&P 500, and is credited as being the world's first and largest accounting and finance staffing firm, with over 400 locations worldwide. In 2009, the company was ranked first in the temporary help industry on Fortune magazine's list of World's Most Admired Companies, and was ranked 9th by global staffing revenue.

History

The company's founding was in 1948, in New York City, with its original name being variously reported as being Robert Half Inc., Robert Half Finance & Accounting, and Robert Half Personnel Agency. The founding, in any case, is reported to have been of two separate business entities, the Robert Half (RH) portion as "an employment agency for accountants," and the Accountemps portion "to supply accountants and other financial professionals… on a temporary basis." Founder Robert Half had previously managed the hiring of accounting staff for a sizeable textile manufacturing concern, and saw an opportunity as no placement agency had been focusing on this sector of the market.

In the mid- to late-1980s, Robert Half (RH) altered its prior focusâ€"which had been like that of the field in generalâ€"from relatively undifferentiated temporary clerical and light industry staffing, to providing temporary workers at higher skill levels via new "professional staffing divisions". Having grown to over 150 locations in the United States and launched an aggressive campaign to re-purchase many of the separate franchises, the firm went public in 1987, then expanded its operations into Europe in 1993. In addition to their Accountemps brand, the firm expanded to include specialty groups focusing on technology, legal and creative services personnel. Inroads into the legal sector began with the company's 1991 acquisition of "The Affiliates, a firm in Southern California that placed temporary and permanent paralegal, legal administrative, and other legal support personnel," with it being renamed as Robert Half Legal.

Robert Half went on to establish itself as a key information provider for government agencies and others seeking statistics and trends regarding employment, with its market-specific salary guides being used as a resource by the U.S Department of Labor in the preparation of their own forecasts.

In addition to their main staffing line of business, RH also provides independent risk consulting, internal audit and information technology consulting services via its Protiviti subsidiary, which was founded in 2002 with the acquisition of former employees of Arthur Andersen. Since then, the group has grown from 700 to over 2,900 staff, and continues to be led by Andersen alumni.

In 2003, the company was finally able to buy back the last of the few remaining independent franchise operations.

Published works

Founder Robert Half's tradition of authoring books on the industryâ€"such as Making It Big in Data Processing and How to Get a Better Job in This Crazy Worldâ€"was continued by the CEO of this date, Harold M. "Max" Messmer, in the form of works like Job Hunting for Dummies.

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Sears Catalog Homes (sold under the Sears Modern Homes name) were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered over the program's 33-year history.

Sears homes can be found across the continental United States. While sold primarily to East Coast and Midwest states, Sears homes have been located as far south as Florida and as far west as California. Examples have also been found in Alaska. A handful of Sears homes have been identified in Canada.

Sears Modern Homes offered the latest technology available to house buyers in the early part of the twentieth century. Central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity were all new developments in house design that "Modern Homes" incorporated, although not all of the houses were designed with these conveniences. Primarily shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included most of the materials needed to build a house. Once delivered, many of these houses were assembled by the new homeowner, relatives, friends and neighbors, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families. Other homeowners relied on local carpenters or contractors to assemble the houses. In some cases, Sears provided construction services to assemble the homes. Some builders and companies purchased homes directly from Sears to build as model homes, speculative homes or homes for customers or employees.

Sears discontinued its Modern Homes catalog after 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during a corporate house cleaning. As only a small percentage of these homes were documented when built, finding these houses today often requires detailed research to properly identify them. Because the various kit home companies often copied plan elements or designs from each other, there are a number of catalog and kit models from different manufacturers that look similar or identical to models offered by Sears. Determining which company manufactured a particular catalog and kit home may require additional research to determine the origin of that home. National and regional competitors in the catalog and kit home market included Aladdin, Bennett, Gordon-Van Tine, Harris Brothers, Lewis, Pacific Ready Cut Homes, Sterling and Wardway Homes.

Sears Modern Homes 1908â€"1942

In 1906, Frank W. Kushel, a Sears manager, was given responsibility for the catalog company's unwieldy, unprofitable building materials department. Sales were down, and there was excess inventory languishing in warehouses. He is credited with suggesting to Richard Sears that the company assemble kits of all the parts needed and sell entire houses through mail order. In the same year, the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan, offered the first kit homes through mail order. In 1908, Sears issued its first specialty catalog for houses, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans, featuring 44 house styles ranging in price from US $360â€"$2,890. The first mail order for a Sears house was filled in 1908. As Sears mail-order catalogs were in millions of homes, large numbers of potential homeowners were able to open a catalog, see different house designs, visualize their new home and then purchase it directly from Sears.

As sales grew, Sears expanded its production, shipping and sales offices to regional sites across the US. To provide the materials needed for the Modern Homes division, Sears first purchased a lumber mill in Cairo, Illinois. Later, Sears acquired a second mill in Port Newark, New Jersey and the Norwood Sash and Door Company in Norwood, Ohio. The ability to mass-produce the materials used in Sears homes reduced manufacturing costs, which allowed Sears to pass along the savings in lower prices for customers.

Precut and fitted lumber, an innovation pioneered by Aladdin, was first offered by Sears in 1916. Prior to 1916, the prospective home builder had to cut their Sears-supplied lumber to appropriate lengths. These pre-1916 houses are not generally considered to be "kit houses" but do fall under the definition of a "catalog house". Construction of a house with pre-cut lumber reduced construction time by up to 40% according to Sears. Sears's use of "balloon style" framing systems did not require a team of skilled carpenters, as did previous methods. Balloon frames were built faster and generally only required one carpenter. This system used precut timber of mostly standard sizes (2"x4" and 2"x8") for framing.

Shipped by railroad boxcar, and then usually trucked to a home site, the average Sears Modern Home kit had approximately 25 tons of materials, with over 30,000 parts. Plumbing, electrical fixtures and heating systems were not included in the base price of the house but could be included, at an additional cost, with the house order. The Modern Homes features of central heating, indoor plumbing, and electrical wiring were the first steps for many families to modern HVAC systems, kitchens, and bathrooms. During the Modern Homes program, large quantities of asphalt shingles became available. Asphalt shingles were cheap to manufacture and ship, and easy and inexpensive to install. A later feature was the use of drywall instead of the plaster and lath wall-building techniques which required skilled carpenters and plasterers. Drywall offered the advantages of low price, ease of installation, and added fire protection. Local building requirements sometimes dictated that ce rtain elements of the house construction be done professionally and varied to meet requirements of each area of the country. For example, requirements for the depth of the foundation varied by climate and terrain and whether the house was being financed by Sears.

Sears began offering financing plans in 1912. Early mortgage loans were typically for 5 â€" 15 years at 6% â€" 7% interest. Sales peaked in 1929, just before the Great Depression. By then, the least expensive model was under US $1,000; the highest priced was under US $4,400 ($13,687 and $60,225 in 2013 dollars respectively). While financing through Sears helped many homeowners purchase homes, the Great Depression led to rising payment defaults, resulting in increasing strain on the catalog house program. By 1934, Sears had stopped offering mortgages after the company was forced to liquidate $11 million in defaulted debt. Sears stopped selling homes for a short time in 1934 before restarting sales. Sales slowly recovered as the United States emerged from the Great Depression but the decision was made in 1940 to wind down the Sears Modern Homes division.

Sears Modern Homes after 1940

The last Sears Modern Homes catalog was issued in 1940. Although it is sometimes claimed that no Sears kit homes were built after 1940, Sears continued to offer pre-cut kit homes through 1941 and 1942. Many of these homes were based on models from the 1940 and earlier Sears catalogs but not all were, leading to debate over whether these homes qualify as "Sears Catalog Homes". Because these homes were constructed using pre-cut lumber and plans provided by Sears, these homes are considered to also be "Sears Catalog Homes". Many of these homes were built in Sears planned "Home Club Plan" developments in New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Homes were also built for industrial firms like Bethlehem Steel which purchased and constructed 61 Sears homes in Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

Models

Over the 32 years that Sears offered homes by catalog, Sears offered 370 different models. In the early years, the models were identified with numbers. After several years, Sears also begin assigning names to the various models, a convention that carried through to the end of the program. Some models were offered with variations, the most common of those being expanded floor plans and additional finished living spaces. Sears houses could also be ordered with reversed floor plans. While the vast majority of models were for single-family house designs, Sears did offer a smaller number of duplex family house designs and even a few larger multiple-family buildings.

Certain models were more popular than others and the most popular models were offered over multiple years. Other models were only offered for one year and some models that were offered have yet to be identified as ever having been actually built. Some models were offered in both wood siding and brick veneer versions with different names attributed to the same or almost identical home plan. The models listed below are some of the most popular models.

• Alhambra
• Argyle
• Avondale
• Barrington
• Conway/Uriel
• Crescent
• Dover
• Elsmore
• Gladstone/Langston
• Hathaway
• Lewiston
• Lynnhaven
• Osborn
• Starlight
• Vallonia
• Westly
• Willard
• Winona

The largest and most expensive Sears model was the Magnolia. Only seven Magnolias are known to be still standing. One Magnolia built in Lincoln, Nebraska was demolished.

Identifying Sears Modern Homes

Sears Homes have become increasingly popular among history enthusiasts because of their sturdy structure, the do-it-yourself nature of construction and the popular architectural design concepts. However, many houses described as Sears Homes are not true Sears Homes, being either the product of another kit home manufacturer or not a kit home at all. Sears houses can be identified and/or authenticated using the following methods.

1. Sears Catalog homes were only offered between 1908 and 1942 through the mail order catalog. Any homes built before 1908, or after 1942, cannot be a Sears Catalog home. However, there is some debate about whether some homes from Sears that were built in 1941 and 1942 qualify as Sears Catalog homes. Some of these homes were based on models offered in the Sears Modern Homes catalog. Others were not but were still pre-cut kit homes from Sears.

2. Stamped lumber: Most easily found in unfinished spaces like a basement or attic, framing members were stamped with a letter and a number. However, these stamps were not used on lumber shipped before 1916, when Sears first started offering pre-cut lumber.

3. Original paperwork for the house including blueprints and letters of correspondence from Sears.

4. Public records: From 1911 to 1933, Sears offered home mortgages and Sears company officials or the Sears corporation may be named on the mortgage or deed associated with the property where the home was constructed. Sears company officials often listed on mortgages and deeds include:

• Edwards D. Ford
• Walker O. Lewis (until early 1930)
• John M. Ogden
• E. Harrison Powell
• William C. Reed
• F. C. Schaub
• Nicholas Wieland (sometimes spelled Weiland)

Cities that have records of building permits may list Sears as the original architect. Also, homes in southern Ohio may have financing documents with the "Norwood Sash and Door Company" of Norwood, Ohio.

5. Shipping labels: Often found on the back of millwork like baseboard molding or door and window trim, shipping labels associated with Sears may indicate that the home is a Sears Catalog house. Most of the millwork was fulfilled by the Sears-owned "Norwood Sash and Door Company" of Cincinnati, Ohio. However, millwork could be purchased separately from Sears so millwork with shipping labels is not, by itself, a definitive indicator of a Sears Catalog house.

6. Compare house designs to original catalog images. Some models of Sears homes were very similar in design to models offered by other kit home manufacturers or through plan books. Designs may have been modified but generally should match in layout and dimensions.

7. Sears Catalog homes built in the 1930s may have a small circled “SR” cast into the bathtub in the lower corner (furthest from the tub spout and near the floor) and on the underside of the kitchen or bathroom sink.

8. Goodwall sheet plaster was an early drywall product offered by Sears and may be an indication of a Sears Catalog house.

Existing Sears Homes

Because the Modern Homes division sales records were destroyed, there is no way to definitively verify the number of Sears houses still extant. Documented Sears houses have been found across the United States and in a few locations in Canada. Cities with large numbers of documented Sears Catalog Homes include:

• Aurora, Illinois with 136
• Carlinville, Illinois with 150 in the Standard Addition neighborhood as well as several other Sears homes elsewhere in the city.
• Cincinnati, Ohio and surrounding communities in southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky with over 450
• Downers Grove, Illinois with 26
• Elgin, Illinois with over 200.
• Washington, D.C. with over 200.

The Carlinville, Illinois concentration consists of houses bought in bulk by the Standard Oil Company in 1918 to house its mineworkers at a total cost of approximately US $1 million. The houses, comprising eight different models, were all built in a 12-block area known as the Standard Addition. Building of the homes took nine months which were completed in 1919. The bulk order is the largest known order for Sears Modern Homes and led to Sears, Roebuck naming their "Carlin" model after the city.

Not all Sears homes became private residences. At Greenlawn Cemetery, near the Hampton Roads waterfront in the Newport News, Virginia, area, the cemetery office building is a 1936 Sears Catalog Home.

National Register of Historic Places

Several Sears catalog houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among those are:

• Alhambra - At Triangle Ranch near Philips, South Dakota
• Saratoga - The Hogue House in Chelsea, Oklahoma
• Strathmore - Chester Valentine House in Saranac Lake, NY

Sears catalog houses can also be found in historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places:

• Eastwood Historic District - 10 Sears catalog houses of various models in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Old Town College Park - Includes a Sears Alhambra and Sears Sheridan in College Park, Maryland

Modern interpretations of Sears Catalog Houses

There are examples of modern homes built based on the design of Sears Catalog homes. In some cases, homeowners used plans from original Sears Catalog homes to recreate a modern version of a Sears home. In other cases, the home followed the general design of a Sears house without being an exact duplicate.

One well-known replica of a Sears catalog house is at the "Farm at Prophetstown" museum in Battle Ground, Indiana, which features a replica of a Hillrose model. The house forms part of the farmstead at the museum.

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The FAST protocol (FIX Adapted for STreaming) is a technology standard developed by FIX Protocol Ltd., specifically aimed at optimizing data representation on the network. It is used to support high-throughput, low latency data communications between financial institutions.

In particular, it is a technology standard that offers significant compression capabilities for the transport of high-volume market data feeds and ultra low latency applications.

History

Timeline

• 2004 Market Data optimization Working Group (“mdowg”) was formed
• 2005 Proof of Concept (“POC”) project
• 2006 FAST 1.0 released
• 2007 FAST 1.1 released
• 2009 FAST 1.2 proposed

In November 2004 Mike Cormack (then CEO Archipelago Holding) spoke at the FPL (FIX Protocol Ltd) conference in New York regarding a call for action to meet the challenges of the increased market data volumes. The increasing volumes of market data were causing delays, preventing market data from reaching traders in a timely fashion, thus disrupting their ability to trade. The classic FIX tag value format was considered to be too verbose and had a high processing overhead. A working group was formed within FPL shortly after the conference.

Current version of FAST

The approved standard is currently at version 1.2, and is used in commercially available products. There are Open Source implementations of the Protocol available.

Exchanges that have adopted FAST

• NYSE Archipelago
• CME Group (CME)
• International Securities Exchange (ISE)
• NasdaqOMX
• SIX_Swiss_Exchange
• Eurex
• Xetra (trading system)
• Bombay_Stock_Exchange (BSE Ltd, India)
• BATS
• ICAP
• OPRA
• BVMF
• Nordic Growth Market (NGM)
• Moscow Exchange (MOEX)
• Shanghai Stock Exchange(SSE,China)

Open source implementations

Source code for implementations of the FAST Specification are available from the following sources:

References

External links

• FAST protocol's official homepage and list of proof of concept sponsors.

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