MORTGAGES: FRED B. KOONS, chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan's mortgage banking subsidiary, has suddenly resigned to "pursue other interests outside Chase." Succeeding Mr. Koons is Richard A. Mirro, the mortgage unit's chief operating officer for originations. Page 17 AFFINITY LENDING is the Holy Grail of new sources for originations, many lenders think. But contracts are harder to come by. And membership groups now demand more service - and up-front money - from lenders, says Thomas J. Handler, head of affinity lending at Lincoln Service Mortgage. Page 16 WASHINGTON: SEEKING TO REIN in private securities fraud suits, a broad coalition of financial services and manufacturing trade groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court this month to decide the legal standard needed to prevail. Page 2 DONALD G. OGILVIE, American Bankers Association executive vice president, wants to give the American Association of Retired Persons a taste of its medicine. The ABA accused the senior citizens group of supporting measures to hamper bank sales of insurance while making big bucks selling similar products to its members. Page 4 REGIONAL BANKING: EARNINGS REPORTED by southeastern banks were largely strong, although AmSouth Bancorp. was down for the quarter due to higher expenses and more money set aside for bad loans. Page 6 THE EFFECTS of last year's interest rate increases are still being felt at some Midwest banks and thrifts, including Cleveland-based Keycorp, which reported second-quarter net income down 10.3%. But growth in loan volume offset margin shrinkage at other institutions. Page 7 COMMUNITY BANKING: W. RONALD DUFFEY never would have landed the business of a Methodist church being built in his Peachtree National Bank's hometown if a community bank down the road hadn't referred the minister to him. The banker passed along the highly desirable customer because the two banks are both affiliates of $6.1 billion-asset Synovus Financial. Page 8 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: AMERICAN EXPRESS is reaching out to small businesses with its latest offering via America Online. Amex is using its on-line site, ExpressNet, to position itself as an expert and resource through a service it calls Small Business Network. Page 10 DELUXE DATA Systems and Concord EFS have settled a lawsuit in which Concord charged Deluxe, a transaction processor, with violating antitrust law in carrying out a contract to handle Maryland's electronic benefits transfer program. The lawsuit had clouded the future of EBT programs. Page 11 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: BANKS SPENT $2.5 million to advertise mutual funds and annuities in the first quarter, 77% less than in the first quarter of 1994, as rates on certificates of deposit became more favorable, a research firm reported. Page 13 CREDIT UNIONS: NORMAN D'AMOURS, head of the National Credit Union Administration, says credit unions should remain true to their purpose of "serving people of small means" or risk losing advantages such as their tax exemption. But some leaders wish Mr. D'Amours would tone down the warnings. Page 23 TECHNOLOGY: MICROSOFT's decision to offer Money, its personal finance software, for free has upped the ante in the struggle with Intuit's Quicken for home banking dominance, bankers and other observers said. Page 20 PUBLICLY HELD payment systems firms reported higher second-quarter earnings that for the most part exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Page 18 FINANCE: A STUDY OF PROXY statements for 147 banking companies shows a strong correlation between bank performance and senior executive pay in 1993, and it suggests directors played key roles in enforcing this discipline, writes James A. Hatch of Ernst & Young. Page 30
