Today's News

WASHINGTON: COMPTROLLER Eugene A. Ludwig made clear in a letter to Rep. John D. Dingell of the Commerce Committee that he is laying the groundwork to expand bank powers. Page 2 REGIONAL BANKING: NATWEST is planning 400 layoffs, for which it will take a $12 million charge in the first quarter. Page 5 GOLDEN WEST Financial Corp. said fourth-quarter earnings were off 44% from the year-earlier period and down 16% for the full year. Page 5 EUROPEAN AMERICAN'S net income jumped 32% in 1994. Page 5 COMMUNITY BANKING: RIGGS NATIONAL Corp. has just recorded its first profitable year of the decade, but some analysts believe the bank still has to prove itself. Page 7 SMALL BUSINESS: BANKS THAT FAIL to cross-sell multiple products, from cash management to retirement plans, are missing the boat with small business, says consultant Gregory J. LaMothe of ActionSystems in Dallas. Page 10 ARE SBA-BACKED lenders worth more to would-be acquirers? The answer appears to be yes. Page 11 MORTGAGES: CASH-STRAPPED Washington, D.C., is renewing its efforts to collect local income taxes from mortgage titan Fannie Mae. Page 14 AGGRESSIVE teaser rates on home loans, commonplace not too long ago, appear to be losing popularity. Page 14 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: STATE STREET Boston Corp. has won a contract to administer a retirement savings program for a major California pension plan. Page 8 FIRST CHICAGO Corp. has restructured the way it manages its investment products and services. Page 8 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: PENN TRAFFIC CO., which owns four supermarket chains in the Northeast, says its new cobranded cards offer the best deal anywhere. Page 16 MBNA COPR. and First USA Inc., continuing to set the pace in credit card industry growth, each added well over $5 billion of receivables during 1994. Page 17 TECHNOLOGY: U.S. ORDER has formed an alliance with Colonial Data Technologies Corp. to market a new generation of screen telephones. Page 18 IBM HAS released data transmission technology that promises to cut costs for banks routing information between computer centers. Page 18 FINANCE: A multi-national group of six banks has won the mandate to lead an extremely competitively-priced $2 billion loan to the republic of Portugal. Page 24 ATYPICALLY low credit costs will likely provide a strong boost to profits at many of the nation's largest banks again this year. Page 24