Today's News

TO SEE how community banking has been transformed over the last 15 years, there may be no better place to look than Indiana, Pa.- the home of $1.3 billion-asset S&T Bancorp. Pullout section WASHINGTON: A FEDERAL JUDGE has hinted that he might reverse a decision by the National Credit Union Administration to let a Houston institution open its doors to all metropolitan area residents 50 or older - about 500,000 people. Page 2 HE MAY BE the House Banking Committee's lowest-ranking Democrat in a Republican-controlled Congress, but Ken Bentsen's last name resounds with influence and power. His uncle is Lloyd Bentsen, the former Treasury secretary. Page 4 CREDIT UNIONS: THE ILLINOIS Credit Union League is rallying its membership to defend themselves against a traditional foe: bankers. Page 12 CREDIT UNIONS are bristling at a state bank group's suggestion that they should chip in to rebuild the flagging Savings Association Insurance Fund. Page 13 MORTGAGES: THE FEW remaining mortgage bank stocks are close to their year's highs, stimulated by a fortuitous combination of economics and the season. Page 14 AS LEGISLATION that would legalize home equity lending in Texas enters what could be a long homestretch, lenders are getting the feeling there'll be a party at the finish line. Page 14 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: CRESTAR FINANCIAL Corp. expanded its empire to the north on Friday by agreeing to buy Loyola Capital Corp. of Baltimore, a $2.5 billion-asset thrift company, for $259.2 million in stock. Page 18 THE VERDICT is still out on third-party marketers' efforts to make up for a weaker investment climate by launching direct-mail campaigns and pushing their brokers harder. Page 19 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: A MAJOR industry conference last week turned into a celebration of credit cards' apparently boundless growth and profitability. Page 16 SOUTH DAKOTA was rated the most hospitable state for operating a card business in 1994, and Kansas the worst. Page 16 TECHNOLOGY: SERVANTIS SYSTEMS has developed client/server- based software that automates the accounting and maintenance related to bank safe deposit boxes. Page 21 REGIONAL BANKING: IF MAKING the Fortune 500 is a goal for chief executives, bankers may be an exception to the rule. Page 5 FINANCE: IT MAY HAVE BEEN a mild winter, but a chill ran through the nation's economy during the first quarter. The gross domestic product rose only 2.8% during the period, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Back page