Today's News

REGIONAL BANKING:

THE SECURITIZATION of small-business loans is still in its infancy, but pending changes in a Small Business Administration program may help spur activity.

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INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:

HSBC AMERICAS is dusting off an old idea - the stock-index CD - to pump up interest in certificates of deposit. Page 6

NORTHERN TRUST is working to fill some high-level management positions. Two of its eight senior vice presidents quit the Chicago-based banking company this month.

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WASHINGTON:

NATIONSBANK unveiled a no-down-payment, no-closing-cost mortgage program that bankers and activists said could become the new standard for community reinvestment. "This extends the market of people we can reach," says Catherine Bessant, a senior vice president. Under the five-year, $500 million program, low-income borrowers will receive credit counseling from Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

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AFTER A TWO-YEAR investigation, the Justice Department dropped plans to sue Barnett Banks on fair-lending grounds. Barnett has consistently defended its lending practices.

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COMMUNITY BANKING:

THE FOUNDER of a California hedge fund has gone beyond telling a Massachusetts thrift how to boost profits. He is also pitching his ideas to other shareholders and potential investors - including some already in takeover talks with Abington Savings.

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INDIANA community bankers are steamed over legislation that would let out-of-state banks accept municipal deposits at their local branches.

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CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:

VERIFONE has begun deploying a system designed to automate the management of vast networks of transaction terminals. Page 12

MORTGAGES:

NORWEST has hired as executive vice president for institutional lending the executive that GMAC Mortgage fired in June as head of national production.

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HOME-EQUITY and other speciality mortgage lenders are trying to strengthen customer relationships in the face of competition from high- technology origination and servicing systems.

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TECHNOLOGY:

FIRST COMMERCE of Louisiana, a banking pioneer in data base marketing, is upgrading its technology to create more refined direct marketing campaigns.

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PAPER CHECKS are here to stay, and that's good for banks, writes consultant Allen H. Lipis. Consumers love them, they're profitable, and banks have a processing monopoly, he points out.

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FINANCE:

UBS Securities downgraded J.P. Morgan & Co. to "hold" from "buy," citing concerns about the global trading environment.

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