Today's News

REGIONAL BANKING

WELLS FARGO has teamed up with Banco Nacional de Mexico to offer fast, low-cost cash transfers. Page 6

DESPITE mounting consumer credit losses, fees and cost controls are helping Midwest institutions post second-quarter profit growth. Page 6

COMMUNITY BANKING

TOP COLLEGE graduates shun banking careers because the industry hasn't shed its stodgy, inbred image of decades past, writes columnist Paul Nadler. Page 7

CONNECTICUT has agreed to pay $60 million to settle a lawsuit by 72 banks and insurance companies. Page 7

MORTGAGES

SUN BELT counties continue to dominate the top 20 markets for new-home sales. Page 11

HOMEOWNERS would benefit if banks and thrifts again dominated the mortgage market, a consultant says. Page 11

WASHINGTON

THE FEDERAL banking agencies are expected to approve rules soon governing how much capital big banks must set aside for securities trading. "There are no big surprises," said Richard Spillenkothen, the Fed's top regulator. "It should be very close to what went out for public comment." Page 2

THE GAO found "no indication" that managers at the Los Angeles Fed branch deliberately falsified cash reports, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said. Page 2

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs

MANY BANKS that want to enter or expand in the credit card business are striking deals with competitors that could steal their customers, writes Angelo Palombi. Page 12

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

AETNA has put its nine-member bank sales force under Michael Gilotti, a vice president who also oversees sales through financial planners and brokerages. Page 14

SUMMER DOLDRUMS and fear of a market correction have depressed mutual fund sales at many banks. Page 16

TECHNOLOGY

THREE YEARS after a prominent vendor announced that check imaging had "arrived," banks are beginning to act as though they believe it's true. Page 17

SIXTY BANKS now use client-server technology to process demand deposit accounts and other core functions, but nearly 200 are seen doing so by the end of 1997. Page 17

FINANCE

STRONG EARNINGS reports helped bank stocks stem their losses after Friday's downdraft. Back page