REGIONAL BANKING
IN A BID to extend its international reach and add volume to its growing commercial letter-of-credit business, CoreStates has opened a Miami branch. Page 5
COMMUNITY BANKING
INNER-CITY bankers are blasting the Treasury Department for the way it chose recipients of community development lending grants. Page 6
CHICAGO-AREA thrifts of similar size - Hinsdale Financial and Liberty Bancorp - have laid out a merger plan that would create a $1.3 billion- asset company. Page 7
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
A FEDERAL judge in Connecticut has ruled that the state must let Fleet Financial Group operate an insurance agency in a small town there - the first such application of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Page 10
SUNTRUST is gearing up to launch several new mutual funds and trust funds, including a high-grade portfolio that will be pitched to municipalities. Page 11
WASHINGTON
BY PUSHING for expanded bank powers, Rep. Jim Leach is endangering the deal that would rescue the thrift insurance fund and repeal some industry regulations. Page 2
SOME REGULATORS and bankers fear that a little-publicized FASB plan could change the income statements of financial institutions, making healthy performers look anemic to investors. Page 3
MORTGAGES
CHASE MANHATTAN is gearing up for a fall launch of reverse mortgages, which would make it one of the biggest banks to get behind the controversial new product. Page 13
THE CHIEF safety and soundness regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has reiterated her request for an additional $857,000 to hire seasoned financial analysts and examiners. Page 13
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs
CARD FRONTIERS: Bank of America has created a system for University of San Francisco students, who will use identification cards for access to school buildings and, if they choose, to their own bank accounts. Page 14
KEY FEDERAL is selling secured credit cards to people who have been approved by General Acceptance, a finance company that underwrites subprime auto loans. Page 15
TECHNOLOGY
EXECUTIVES at Intuit Services, acknowledging "a perception that ISC has not performed up to standards," said the leader in processing PC-initiated banking transactions is getting new management. Page 16
NORWEST has hired Fiserv to handle a portion of its check processing business in Wisconsin. Page 17
FINANCE
MARK TWAIN Bancshares stock surged after the St. Louis holding company announced a plan to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Page 24
