Inside Track

Trade publication U.S. Banker awarded U.S. Bancorp two sets of honors for promoting and fostering female executives.

For the second year in a row, the Minneapolis-based bank was No. 1 in the nation for "Top Banking Team," rating the financial performance of the bank, share of female officers and executives and the financial record and growth of business lines led by women.

And, two U.S. Bancorp executives were named among the most powerful women in banking.

Pam Joseph, vice chairman for payments, ranked sixth on the publication's list. Diane Thormodsgard, vice chairman of wealth management, was 10th.

Going dark

A study out of the Carlson School of Management blames the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for pushing companies to delist themselves from U.S. exchanges.

Assistant finance Prof. Tracy Yue Wang and the University of Chicago's Christian Leuz determined that the effort to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley financial disclosure requirements "is too burdensome" for many smaller companies.

"Our study does find that the cost-saving argument given by firms that went dark was credible," Wang said. " But we also find evidence suggesting that some 'going dark' events were driven by insiders' desire to avoid outside scrutiny."

The article will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Accounting and Economics.

Law and science

The Minneapolis law firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard has created what it believes to be a first for the local bar, a "Sci-Tech" legal team that focuses on cases concerning science and technology. The team is designed to handle litigation about issues such as patents, biotechnology and environmental matters.

The team leaders are James Bullard and I. Daniel Colton. Bullard has 25 years of experience handling civil litigation. Colson holds a master of science degree in geochemistry and thermodynamics, as well as a law degree. He has combined the two backgrounds in his 15 years of litigation work.

MIKE MEYERS, DAVID PHELPS