WASHINGTON:
NATIONSBANK asked a federal judge to deny class-action status for a pending fair-lending lawsuit. Page 2
REGIONAL BANKING:
SKEPTICS are having a field day with the prediction of a TV commentator that Glendale Federal will be sold this year. Dan Dorfman said Glenfed's chairman was rumored to be pushing hard for a deal worth $1.2 billion or more. Page 6
LOS ANGELES "strongly opposes" Wells' bid for First Interstate, the mayor and city council president told the Fed in a letter. Page 6
MORTGAGES:
HOUSE BANKING Chairman Jim Leach has asked the chairmen of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to persuade loan servicers to cut some slack for furloughed government workers who miss mortgage payments. Page 13
AS MORTGAGE BANKERS prepare for a new refinancing wave, they are struggling to digest the enduring effect of the last one - a strict new emphasis on the bottom line. The signs were everywhere last year.
Pages 12, 13
CREDIT UNIONS:
1995 WAS A BANNER YEAR for credit unions, as capital levels hit historic highs and delinquency continued a decade-long decline. Too bad nobody noticed. Instead, the industry made an embarrassing spectacle of itself. Page 7
COLORADO BANKERS are going to the courts to block a credit union expansion. Page 7
COMMUNITY BANKING:
FARM LENDERS had a fairly good 1995, but not everywhere or with every product. Problems in such sectors as the cattle industry could continue, and Congress is likely to reduce subsidies. Page 10
THE MASSACHUSETTS Independent Bankers Association is waking up from a long hibernation, abandoning old lobbying efforts in favor of helping members boost profits through cooperative efforts.
Page 10
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:
NATIONAL BANKS with trust departments operating in several states may soon get a break on the cost of doing business. Page 14
AFTER THREE MONTHS of fine-tuning, the National Association of Securities Dealers has issued its final proposal to create a new framework for bank-affiliated broker-dealers. The proposal now goes to the SEC.
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CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:
VISA has introduced a guaranteed car-rental reservation service for peak travel times. The goal is to discourage consumers from booking with multiple renters and then becoming no-shows. Page 17
FIRST DATA's remittance processing business is being acquired by a National City subsidiary.
Page 16
TECHNOLOGY:
STOCK PRICES of bank technology firms soared last year. Gains for the companies tracked by American Banker averaged 34%.
Page 18
ACKNOWLEDGING that its future lies more in electronic banking, check printer Deluxe Corp. said it would take a $60 million to $70 million restructuring charge partly related to the closing of printing plants.
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