Today's News

WASHINGTON:

THE BARNETT insurance case before the Supreme Court and the expected challenge to the Fed's approval of the Chemical-Chase merger share more than most bankers realize.

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AN ACTIVIST GROUP is offering banks a way to avoid the Community Reinvestment Act protests that have dogged most recent mergers. The group said it would not protest against any bank that lives up to 10 principles designed to protect low-income people.

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TECHNOLOGY:

THE JOCKEYING for position in the home banking business continued this week as Checkfree announced its intention to acquire Servantis Systems. The deal, which awaits regulatory approval, would help Checkfree expand the range of home banking services its offers to financial institutions.

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COMMUNITY BANKING:

A DALLAS-BASED savings bank has applied to open its first branch outside of Texas - more than 900 miles away in the Chicago area. Beal Bank, with $1.2 billion of assets, focuses on investment accounts. Page 6

TAKING ADVANTAGE of their wariness of big correspondents, Vermont's Chittenden Corp. is trying to help community banks boost their loan portfolios. For two years it has cultivated correspondent ties to about 20 smaller community banks throughout northern New England.

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MORTGAGES:

MOST BROKERS and correspondent lenders rate the payments they receive as more important than service in determining who they'll do business with, according to a survey.

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THE RAPID consolidation in mortgage banking will continue this year, according to a prominent investment banker.

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INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:

HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES, well known for its high-tech prowess, is counting on computers to boost retail sales of mutual funds and annuities.

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THE CHALLENGE of integrating the banking and brokerage cultures was very much on the minds of the 45 high-level bank brokerage executives who gathered in Florida for the ABA's forum on securities sales and management.

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CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:

HIGH-POWERED EFFORTS to force life into smart cards may be yielding little more than hot air, according to an increasingly vocal band of skeptics. Sources said Visa, MasterCard, and Mondex - three companies in the forefront of the smart card race - were exaggerating the progress of their competing programs have made.

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FINANCE:

TRADING in bank index options has surged as bank stock investors seek ways to insulate their portfolios amid rising uncertainty over the federal budget and interest rates.

Back page

MERRILL LYNCH dismissed five executives from its financial institutions group last week - among them a director responsible for banks in the Southeast and the Middle-Atlantic states. Back page

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