MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Technology spending by banks is again outpacing inflation this year. This special issue presents findings from the 1996 American Banker survey of technology in banking, including reports on key areas like the Internet, telecommunications, corporate banking, and outsourcing. Pullout section
WASHINGTON
Comptroller Eugene A. Ludwig warned bankers that not every community development loan will qualify for credit under the revised Community Reinvestment Act rules. Page 2
The OCC's special assistant to the director of enforcement and compliance, John W. Shockey, has worked behind the scenes to uncover financial scams. Page 2
COMMUNITY BANKING
Commerce, a rapidly growing southern New Jersey bank company, is buying an upstate bank that its chairman helped start more than 25 years ago. Page 8
MORTGAGES
Commonwealth Mortgage Assurance of Philadelphia rolled out a scoring model for lenders that will forecast loan losses during the lifetime of a loan portfolio. Page 10
Much has been made of the development of an exclusive club of companies servicing $100 billion or more of mortgages, but some observers say the club may be losing its allure. Page 10
TECHNOLOGY
NCR is making a bid to put its mainframe legacy behind it and prepare its banking customers for the technology needs of the next millennium with the establishment of a $10 million financial services knowledge lab. Page 12
In the payments sector, banks are said to be losing ground to nonbanks that are skimming the cream - targeting the highly profitable electronic transactions and leaving the more costly cash and check processing burdens to banks. Page 13
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
Speakers at a recent conference in Pittsburgh on trust compensation advised trust bankers looking for fee income to open their doors to people with less than $1 million to invest. Page 14
In response to the National Association of Securities Dealers' continuing-education requirements, Fidelity Investments set up a Fidelity Advisor Institute for investment professionals. Page 14
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs
CARD FRONTIERS: Catering to Japanese tourists is big business in Hawaii, and Bank of Hawaii is vying for a piece of the action with a new stored- value card. Page 16
Visa and MasterCard each announced card acceptance tests with Sam's Club, the nation's largest warehouse retailer. Page 17
FINANCE
Virtually all mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry have been done on friendly terms, but hints are growing that hostile takeovers could be less rare in the future. Page 22
Bankers Trust New York won two assignments to lead-manage equity issues, marking the second and third such coveted roles for the bank since gaining equity powers in 1992. Page 22
Brown Brothers Harriman downgraded First Union shares, citing unimpressive third-quarter earnings and continued deterioration in the regional bank's credit card portfolio. Back page