Today's News

WASHINGTON: JONATHAN FIECHTER, acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, says the government may have to find some other source than the thrift industry to pay off the bonds issued to fund the savings and loan cleanup. Page 2 TAKING ADVANTAGE of the government's increased interest in small business lending, a Long Island bank has raised antitrust objections to a planned purchase of its stock by a competitor. Page 4 REGIONAL BANKING: PNC BANK Corp. is gambling, in its deal to buy part of Chemical Bank New Jersey, that it will realize cost savings and fund management revenues in an upscale market. Page 5 COMMUNITY BANKING: HOMEGROWN BANKS are still king in Evansville, Ind. That's unusual because scores of local banks have been acquired by out-of-state regionals ever since Indiana's branching laws began easing a decade ago. Page 7 A THRIFT RAIDER from South Carolina, Mid-Atlantic Investors, has expanded its reach into Virginia by acquiring a 9.9% stake in a Norfolk thrift, Cenit Bancorp. Page 8 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: EXAMINERS are still spotting problems with compliance a year after banking regulators issued guidelines for investment sales through branches. Page 11 FIRST DATA's deal to buy a mutual fund administration unit of Allmerica Financial turned into a much bigger transaction when Allmerica agreed to outsource its retirement services processing to First Data as well. Page 11 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: MEXICO has issued rules that specify how credit bureaus should collect and disseminate consumer credit information, clearing the way for the bureaus to update the country's credit reporting system. Page 13 EQUIFAX is planning a partnership to offer a service in Mexico that will help companies identify potential customers. The service will be based primarily on data from the Mexican census. Page 14 TECHNOLOGY: BOATMEN's Bancshares, a onetime example of how growth by acquisition can reduce an organization's efficiency, has ridden a renewed focus on technology to vastly improved profitability. Page 15 MORTGAGES: ADJUSTABLE-RATE loans became more popular in Greater Chicago in 1994, grabbing a 28% market share, but that was just half the loans' share nationwide. Page 10 TAX-DEDUCTIBILITY of mortgage interest payments is heating up as a political issue since the Senate Finance Committee chairman suggested trimming the size of eligible loans by 75%. Page 9 FINANCE: ANALYSTS and investors clearly hope the Southeast will soon follow the Midwest, the Middle Atlantic states, and the Northeast, where major bank acquisitions have been announced this year. Back page

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