Business briefs

Bank enters

new agreement

City Holding Co. said its City National Bank subsidiary hasentered into a revised, less comprehensive formal agreement with thebank's regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

City National has been operating under an agreement with theregulator since July 2000 that calls for the bank to formalize andbetter document its practices and procedures.

The company said the new agreement, which replaces the original,calls for continued refinement of the process to request and reviewreal estate appraisals for adequacy and compliance; furtherdevelopment and implementation of a written program to improve thebank's loan portfolio management; further development of aneffective, independent and ongoing loan review system; and otherrequirements.

Jerry Francis, City Holding's president and chief executiveofficer, said in a prepared statement that the agreement does notaffect the way the bank conducts business with its customers. Hesaid the company does not anticipate that the agreement will haveany effect on fourth quarter operating results.

At City Holding's annual meeting in June, Francis toldshareholders he hoped to obtain an amended written agreement withthe regulator and, "my object is to have it fully lifted by the endof the year."

Agency cuts back

on paperwork

The state Public Service Commission has begun an effort tostreamline the way it does business.

As of Sept. 21, "anyone filing a case with the agency will needfile only half the copies we had heretofore required," ChairmanJames Williams said in a prepared statement.

More than 2,300 cases were brought before the commission lastyear. Any utility or individual bringing a case before thecommission was previously required to file an original and 12copies. The new requirement is an original and six copies.

"Each filing can run dozens or even hundreds of pages," Williamssaid. "Imagine the savings now that we've cut those figures inhalf."

"We intend to implement a total agency-wide review of all suchrequirements in hopes of finding additional ways we can helpratepayers and the utilities we regulate save time and money whendoing business with the Public Service Commission," Williams said.

Yankee Candle

store opens in mall

The Yankee Candle Co. Inc. has opened a store at Charleston TownCenter.

The store, on the lower level near center court, showcases thecompany's Housewarmer-brand jar candles and many other candle stylesin about 115 fragrances.

The Charleston Town Center outlet is Yankee Candle's firstcompany-owned store in West Virginia.

The Massachusetts-based company has 181 stores in 39 states.

Yankee Candle is a publicly traded company. Its stock trades onthe New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, "YCC."

New judge wants

to end dispute

WASHINGTON - The new judge in the Microsoft antitrust caseordered both sides to work around the clock to settle the longdispute, citing economic fallout from the terror attacks as onereason for haste.

Besides the case, Microsoft also is dealing with a shaky economyand the coming release of two key products: the Windows XP operatingsystem upgrade and its first major foray into the video gamebusiness, X-Box.