WASHINGTON:
TO DEFLECT a presidential veto, House lawmakers toned down legislation that would grant a CRA break to nearly 7,000 banks. Page 2
THE SHADOW Financial Regulatory Committee has a thrift fund rescue plan it says would cost commercial banks much less than the administration's plan, and wouldn't cost thrifts any more. Page 3
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:
ANNE BUSQUET, an executive vice president of American Express, says a strong brand identity is increasingly essential to customer loyalty and profitability. She addressed the issue with other experts last week at a bank card conference in New York. Page 12
REGIONAL BANKING:
CITICORP'S sweeping reorganization launched earlier this year is aimed at improving efficiencies and freeing up resources, not radically altering the bank's focus, said vice chairman Christopher J. Steffen. Page 4
IF MARKETING CONSULTANT Don Peppers had his way, automated teller machines would never again ask him if he wanted to conduct transactions in English or Spanish. Page 4
COMMUNITY BANKING:
NEW YORK community bankers are trying to whittle away at credit unions' legendary grass-roots support by appealing to people's pocketbooks. Page 8
COMPLIANCE:
THEIR ATTIRE was casual, but the issues compliance lawyers contemplated at a three-day seminar in Palm Beach were serious - like anticipating state reactions to the Riegle-Neal act. Page 8
IN WHAT MAY BE part of a trend, BayBanks and Marine Midland have just opened inner-city offices in the South Bronx and South Boston.
Page 8
MORTGAGES:
ANGELO MOZILO of Countrywide Funding, the nation's largest independent mortgage originator, warns that using credit scoring to approve mortgages could lead to severe bias against minority and low-income groups. Page 10
J.P. MORGAN's decision to sharply curtail part of its mortgage business will shake the market for mortgage securities, experts say, but not hard enough to do much lasting damage.
Page 10
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:
THE NASD approved a set of revised rules for bank brokerages that promises to quell many bankers' fears. Page 11
MYSTERY SHOPPING is being vastly overused, writes Marietta Perkins, a senior manager with KPMG Peat Marwick. Page 11
TECHNOLOGY:
VERISIGN, a startup with some impressive backing, is close to launching what may be the first service to let users obtain digital identification numbers over the World Wide Web.
Page 15
FINANCE:
MOODY'S AND S&P sometimes seem to operate with cookie-cutter similarity, but that hasn't been the case in the fledgling business of rating syndicated bank loans. Back page
KEYCORP's annual session with Wall Street analysts seemed not to excite them much. Shares were unchanged, though at a 52-week high. Back page
