Business Briefs: Jim Sattler appointed to Erlanger board

Jim Sattler appointed to Erlanger board

James F. “Jim” Sattler, a former chairman of EMJ Corp., and general partner with Vision Development, has joined the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Erlanger Health System.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger appointed Sattler to a 4-year term on the board that directs Chattanooga’s biggest hospital.

Sattler also previously served as a commissioner with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and currently serves as commissioner of both the Chattanooga Housing Authority and Chattanooga City Land Bank Board, and is a member of the local Board of Advisers of SunTrust Bank.

“Jim has already made his mark on our organization by serving as Signature Gifts co-chair for our highly successful Children’s Hospital at Erlanger building campaign,” Erlanger CEO Kevin Spiegel said.

Hamilton County prices bonds at 2.65 percent rate

Bolstered by a top rating from all three bond rating agencies, Hamilton County priced a record $195 million of bonds at an attractive 2.65 percent interest rate Tuesday.

The bond issue will pay for $110 million of school construction projects in Hamilton County, including two new schools, and pay for a new $20 million county jail. The favorable borrowing rate will also help the county refinance some of its debt and save more than $300,000.

Seven financial institutions bid on the right to buy the bonds and the winning bid was by Citigroup Global markets.

“We are very pleased with the results of this morning’s bidding, this is a terrific rate in today’s current interest rate market,” said Lauren Lowe, managing director for PFM Financial Advisors, which helped Hamilton County take its biggest bond issue ever to the market today.

Mayor Jim Coppinger said the favorable bond rating and pricing “is another example of our conservative fiscal approach to governing.”

The bond transaction is expected to be completed at the end of the month.

Payday lender executive may become regulator

The former CEO of a payday lending company that had been under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked to be considered for the top job at the watchdog agency, The Associated Press has learned.

Such a request would have been extraordinary in the years when the agency was run by an Obama appointee and often targeted payday lenders. The CFPB opened an investigation into lending practices at World Acceptance. On Jan. 22, the company said the investigation had been completed without enforcement action. It also said CEO Janet Matricciani had resigned after 2 1/2 years in that position.

Two days later, Matricciani sent an email to what appears to be Mulvaney’s personal email address to pitch herself as a candidate to lead the CFPB.

“Who better than me understands the need to treat consumers respectfully and honestly, and the equal need to offer credit to lower income consumers in order to help them manage their daily lives?” Matricciani wrote to the CFPB director.

McDonald’s gets fresh with Quarter Pounders

McDonald’s said Tuesday it is serving Quarter Pounders with fresh beef rather than frozen patties at about a quarter of its U.S. restaurants, a switch it first announced about a year ago as it works to appeal to customers who want fresher foods. It will roll out fresh beef Quarter Pounders to most of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants by May.

The fast-food giant, which has relied on frozen patties since the 1970s, said workers will cook up the fresh beef on a grill when the burger is ordered.

“The result is a hotter, juicier, great tasting burger,” said Chris Kempczinski, who oversees McDonald’s Corp.’s restaurants in the U.S.

Its pricier “Signature Crafted” burgers, stuffed with guacamole or bacon, will also be made with fresh beef since they use the same sized patty as the Quarter Pounder. The Big Mac and its other burgers, however, will still be made with frozen beef.

The change at McDonald’s is the latest as it seeks to shed its junk food image. It has removed artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets, and made other tweaks, including replacing the apple juice in Happy Meals with one with less sugar.