Today's News

THE RUMORS over who will succeed Richard M. Rosenberg as chairman of BankAmerica Corp. are flying furiously following reports that the bank has hired an executive search firm to compile a list of possible candidates. Page 10 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: THOSE ATTENDING a Wharton School conference on the marketing of bank insurance products paid rapt attention when two European bankers described their experiences with "bancassurance." Page 6 COMMUNITY BANKING: SMALL BANKS and thrifts in the area are teeing off on First National Bank of Chicago over its new policy of charging customers $3 for some teller transactions. Page 8 A FLORIDA THRIFT is seeking to protect its collateral from being used by the New York State Banking Department to pay off the debt of a failed check processing company. Page 9 MORTGAGES: CREDIT QUALITY is slipping as a result of heavy competition in the mortgage industry, according to a research firm. Page 11 CITYSCAPE CORP., which specializes in loans to people with blemished credit records, has established a joint venture to originate such loans in Great Britain. Page 13 TECHNOLOGY: SERVANTIS SYSTEMS Inc. said it has agreed to acquire Amresco Services Inc., the home banking transaction processing subsidiary of Amresco Holdings Corp. Page 14 TO UPGRADE operations at its consumer finance branches, Ford's giant Associates Corporation of North America has bought 1,100 midrange computers from International Business Machines Corp. Page 14 FIRST INTERSTATE Bancorp has combined three units into one to promote its alternative delivery channels. Page 15 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: WORKING WITH several technology partners, Verifone Inc. will offer merchants a service meant to give fast digital access to payment networks. Page 16 VISA HAS launched a three-month promotion with the aim of increasing by 1,000% the U.S. merchant base for its Electron debit card. Page 16 FINANCE: TALK ABOUT hitting the ground running: UBS Securities' new financial institutions group wasted little time making its mark - not to mention justifying its multimillion-dollar salaries. Back page

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