Toady's News

REGIONAL BANKING: AS FAR as stock analysts are concerned, Great Western's John F. Maher is something of a mystery. But he plans to become a visible spokesman to investors upon taking the reins of the big California thrift at yearend. Page 4 AFTER FIVE YEARS of trying to build its presence in Springfield, Ohio, Banc One has given up and agreed to sell its branches there to competitor Huntington Bancshares. Page 4 WASHINGTON: TREASURY Secretary Robert Rubin conceded that practical politics may stand in the way of the administration's goal of letting banks and insurance companies enter each other's businesses. Page 2 AS THE HOUSE Banking Committee prepares for crucial votes on Glass-Steagall legislation next week, all eyes are on the panel's huge bloc of freshman Republicans. Page 3 COMMUNITY BANKING: JEFFERSON SAVINGS Bancorp's annual meeting turned turbulent when a number of shareholders accused the St. Louis thrift's management of ignoring their interests. Page 12 INVESTORS BANKING Corp. is leveraging its bet on the Southern California market with another acquisition in Los Angeles. Page 12 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: AFTER MORE than a year of preparation, Buffalo's Manufacturers and Traders Bank has taken charge of an investment sales program formerly managed by Liberty Financial. Page 14 THE SEC has reprimanded Meridian Bancorp's investment subsidiary on grounds that it failed to disclose a conflict of interest in managing two employee benefit plans. Page 15 COMPLIANCE: THE BOTTOM LINE for the 22 months spent reforming Community Reinvestment Act enforcement will be how well bank examiners apply the new rules. Page 17 MORTGAGES: IN BUYING a $15 billion servicing portfolio from Household Mortgage Services this week, Fleet Mortgage became the third-largest home mortgage servicer - and one of only four to handle more than $100 billion of loans. Page 18 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: A NEW YORK college senior obtained a credit card - along with the recruiting enticement of a yearly planner - by presenting a valid student ID. While issuers call such incidents anecdotal, critics say they point up the need for close monitoring of issuer-student relationships. Page 20 TECHNOLOGY: LIKE MANY financial institutions in the United States, Banamex, a leading Mexican bank, is moving to a client/server computing environment in hopes of improving its operations. Page 22 HUNTINGTON Bancshares, seeking to standardize its back-office computing in order to focus better on customer delivery, has signed a wide-ranging software license agreement with Hogan Systems. Page 23 FINANCE: WALL STREET's bottom fishers are beginning to angle for Bankers Trust New York Corp., whose stock is down more than 25% from its 52-week high. Back page BANKERS OFTEN possess an uncanny ability to sniff opportunity, and the bank bond market has smelled especially sweet in the last month. Back page