Today's News

SPECIAL REPORT: THE MERGER WAVE was well under way in the first half of the year, with total deal value up 61% over the same period of 1994. American Banker's midyear M&A Roundup ranks the deals and the players in an increasingly active battlefield. Pullout section WASHINGTON: A KEY MEMBER of the House Republican leadership is insisting that major bank legislation include a provision limiting new insurance activities for national banks. Page 2 RECENT EFFORTS to make minimal capital requirements more precise could backfire, a New York Federal Reserve Bank economist warned. Page 2 REGIONAL BANKING: THE INTERNATIONAL Brotherhood of Teamsters said it has formally protested NationsBank Corp.'s two planned acquisitions in Florida, citing the Community Reinvestment Act. Page 4 KEYCORP has opened a Hong Kong-based financial subsidiary, becoming the latest regional bank to expand its global trade finance operations. Page 4 SMALL BUSINESS: A DECIISION by the Small Business Administration to use Fair, Isaac & Co.'s credit-scoring software for processing low-documentation-loan applications has at least one competing supplier very upset. Page 5 COMMUNITY BANKING: REGULATORS seized community banks in Connecticut and California last weekend after their managements failed to resuscitate them. Page 8 MORTGAGES: THE NATIONAL Association of Mortgage Brokers, beset with internal strife over much of the past year, seems to be regaining its footing. Page 10 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: EQUIFAX INC., the diversified Atlanta-based credit rating agency, has consolidated its check and card services business into one group. Page 12 TECHNOLOGY: REALITY ONLINE INC. is following the lead of some larger rivals with plans to market its personal investment software through banks and other financial companies. Page 14 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: EIGHT mutual fund operators, including Mellon and BankAmerica, are mailing out simple prospectuses as a supplement to the legalistic ones that have become the bane of many investors. Debra McGinty-Poteet, who runs B of A's Pacific Horizon Funds, said close tabs will be kept on "how shareholders accept and understand" them. Page 7 FINANCE: A BIDDING WAR on Long Island ended with the announcement by Sunrise Bancorp that it spurned North Fork Bancorp. and accepted a $110 million buyout offer from Reliance Bancorp. Back page MOODY's TOOK a component of its debt and deposit ratings, the safety and soundness of individual institutions, and established a new rating system. Back page