REGIONAL BANKING: RICHARD M. ROSENBERG, BankAmerica Corp.'s chairman, has tried to put the kibosh on rumors that the company is looking outside for his successor, or considering acquisitions of retail banks in the Northeast or Chicago. At a press briefing before the annual meeting, he said there is no outside search for a new chairman. Page 6 WASHINGTON: A REPORT expected this week calls on Congress to enact comprehensive legislation for the undercapitalized Savings Association Insurance Fund by July 1. A draft of the SAIF Industry Advisory Committee's report mentions, among proposed remedies, merging the thrift fund with the Bank Insurance Fund. Page 2 BANKERS ROUNDTABLE asked the banking agencies this month to either eliminate or substantially modify scores of rules in response to the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994. Page 4 SMALL BUSINESS: STEVE HICKMAN, director of small-business banking at Barnett Banks, developed 19 products and services targeting certain kinds of small companies. For instance, a payroll processing service is aimed at retailers with fewer than 10 employees. Page 7 CREDIT UNIONS: THE BORDERS between state credit union leagues continue to blur as California and Nevada join a surging tide of consolidating trade groups. Page 11 THE NATIONAL Credit Union Administration unanimously approved Lusitania Federal Credit Union's application to convert its charter to that of a mutual savings bank. The Newark, N.J., credit union thus won a nine-month battle to become a thrift. Page 11 COMMUNITY BANKING: WEST VIRGINIA independent bankers are considering organizing a trade group because they don't think their views are represented by the West Virginia Bankers Association. Page 13 INVESTORS ARE SOURING after losing more than $80 million in the last two years on three major community bank recapitalizations in California. Several struggling California banks have raised new capital in the last two years only to see it disappear. Page 13 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: THRIFTS SELL twice as many annuities as commercial banks, in relation their asset bases, according to a study of fourth-quarter data by the Bank Insurance Market Research Group. Page 14 SECURITY FIRST Group recently announced that it was making three integrated technology systems available for boosting sales of its fixed and variable annuities through banks. Page 15 TECHNOLOGY: FLEET FINANCIAL Group is going companywide with neural network software intended to help it tailor its cross-selling efforts to the needs of individual customers. Page 16 UNISYS NAMED Glenn F. Santmire to head its global financial services unit. The former senior vice president of remote banking at MasterCard International took his new post as president of what Unisys terms its worldwide financial line of business about a month ago. Page 18 MORTGAGES: WASHINGTON FEDERAL Savings, which has stuck to the old-fashioned business of making and holding fixed-rate loans, is preparing for good times while most thrifts are gritting their teeth in anticipation of a slump in adjustable-rate mortgages. Page 20 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: GULF OIL Limited Partnership is making its way to market with yet another gasoline cobranded card , just as motorists in the Northeast hit the vacation trail. The Gulf MasterCard is issued by Fleet Financial Group. Page 22 MASTERCARD International has signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement with the Colonial men's professional golf tournament in Fort Worth. Page 23 FINANCE: THE BOND MARKET evidently thinks the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates soon. The yield on two-year Treasury notes Friday dipped below the Fed's 6% target rate for federal funds, or overnight interbank loans. By contrast, the two-year Treasury yield typically exceeds the federal funds rate by roughly 100 basis points. Back page
