Today's News

WASHINGTON: IN SEVEN YEARS as a Fed governor, John P. LaWare has seen it all - a banking crisis, a dramatic recovery, and a regulatory upheaval. "It's just been a spectacular experience," says the former Shawmut chairman, who plans to leave the central bank April 30. Page 2 INCOME FROM investing the anticipated surplus in RTC funds - between $9.4 billion and $13.1 billion - could take the Savings Association Insurance Fund off the hook for 45% of its expenses. Page 4 COMMUNITY BANKING: THE MERGER this month of banks in Baltimore and Columbia, S.C., is the latest in a consolidation of the Farm Credit System that could force a new competitive dynamic in the agricultural lending business. Page 9 AG BANKERS in Iowa can boost their lending on some kinds of loans under a revamped state banking code. Page 9 CREDIT UNIONS: THE NATIONAL Credit Union Administration plans to limit the investment powers and toughen the capital standards of the industry's liquidity centers. Page 14 THE FAILURE of a tiny and allegedly fraud-ridden Massachusetts credit union could cost the federal government millions in insurance payouts. Page 14 DIGEST: A SUMMARY of last week's stop stories and a look at the week ahead. Page 6 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: INVEST FINANCIAL Corp., a top marketer of mutual funds and annuities through banks, may hit the acquisition trail if its parent company is bought by a Swiss insurer. Page 10 TECHNOLOGY: BANK TECHNOLOGY stocks ended the week mostly higher, after two weeks of declines that ran counter to the equities markets overall. Page 16 MORTGAGES: GE CAPITAL Mortgage Services, which has been on a shopping spree for servicing portfolios, made two big acquisitions in just two days last week. Page 12 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: THE PRESIDENTS of MasterCard and Visa called last week for more cooperation among companies inside and outside the banking industry to assure that smart card technology achieves its full potential. Page 13 FINANCE: SILICON VALLEY Bancshares received an initial rating of "buy" from Alex. Brown analyst Joseph Morford, who also initiated coverage of eight other western banks and thrifts with "neutral" ratings. Back page