Today's News

REGIONAL BANKING

Union Planters' plan to enter Florida by buying Capital Bancorp faces an obstacle: suspicious shareholders of the Miami bank. Page 5

COMMUNITY BANKING

The start-up wave has hit Chicago. Veteran bankers displaced by big mergers are planning and opening community banks to capitalize on former employers' weaknesses. Page 14

The founder of U.S. Healthcare wants to open the first "merchant bank" under a new kind of Maine charter. Page 14

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

INSURANCE: It's the turtle versus the hare in Louisiana, where Hibernia and First National Bank of Commerce both predict victory in the life insurance business. Page 16

A Lehman Brothers veteran is importing an aggressive sales mentality for Wells' retail investment business. Page 16

MORTGAGES

Pete Wissinger, the retail chief at Norwest's mortgage unit, will now take on responsibility for its huge servicing portfolio. The appointment came as Norwest launched a search for a new chief operating officer; CEO Mark Oman has reportedly contacted officials at other banks about the job. Mr. Wissinger, who has been the No. 2 executive since Mark Korell left in May, said he is pleased by the development. Page 10

Fleet hired a mortgage production chief after more than a year of trying to get along without one. Page 10

Ginnie Mae is about to open its first office in the heart of Manhattan's financial district. Page 10

CORPORATE FINANCE

Lending to retailers is headed for a 50% rise this year, spurred by loans to supermarket chains. Page 18

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs

Research from Fair, Isaac & Co. shows that people who file for bankruptcy generally follow predictable patterns of behavior. Page 19

TECHNOLOGY

Sun Microsystems, challenging Microsoft and makers of Intel-chip server computers, is introducing an under-$20,000 machine. Page 22

Hewlett-Packard has a five-year contract to run most information technology operations for Trust Bank of Australia. Page 22

MARKET MONITOR

Investors remained cautious about bank stocks, although a strong market rally late Monday afternoon helped banking indexes post a gain for the day. Page 30

Other foreign banks are expected to follow Societe Generale in issuing a new hybrid security in the United States in coming weeks. Page 30

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