Today's News

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:

CHASE MANHATTAN's private banking group is going after the business of the wealthy - those with investable assets of more than $5 million. Their needs are distinctly different from those of someone who is merely affluent, argues James W. Zeigon, head of global private banking. Page 10

WASHINGTON:

POLITICIANS ARE accustomed to arguing loudly in the morning and shaking hands in the afternoon. But debates rarely become as bitter as the one now raging over Whitewater, so it may take some time for the House Banking Committee's Republicans and Democrats to put this episode behind them. Page 3

THE FEDERAL Housing Finance Board has banned the 12 Federal Home Loan banks from using resale agreements to extend credit to their members. Page 2

REGIONAL BANKING:

IN WHAT is believed to be the first program of its kind in the country, Huntington Bancshares' flagship is offering no-interest, no-fee loans to hospital patients to cover the unpaid costs of their care. Page 4

FIRST COMMERCIAL Bancorp, Sacramento, said it had agreed to a $10 million recapitalization by First Banks Inc. of St. Louis and that company's chairman, James F. Dierberg. Page 4

COMMUNITY BANKING:

TRUST COMPANY of New Jersey is discovering that finally getting into consumer lending isn't such a bad idea. Page 7

MORTGAGES:

THE DEPARTMENT of Housing and Urban Development instituted changes in its FHA program last week that will make it easier and cheaper for lenders to use the government insurance program. Page 8

TECHNOLOGY:

VISA International's announcement that it plans to offer members a computer-generated branch may have raised the ante yet again for bank competition over the Internet. Page 15

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:

MONDEX, the automated cash system based on smart cards, is dipping into the old-fashioned publishing business. The unit of London-based National Westminster Bank wants to use Mondex Magazine to spread the word about its "global electronic cash." Page 13

MASTERCARD has formed a global alliance with Verifone Inc. to encourage more merchants to install card-accepting terminals so consumers can use plastic at the point of sale. Page 12

FINANCE:

IT IS LESS than two months since the survivor of the former First City Bancorp. of Texas emerged from Chapter 11, but already the company is putting its $650 million of tax loss carryforwards to good use. Back page

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