Today's News

WASHINGTON

A key vote on financial reform legislation is on for Friday, but the measure is still being attacked from many sides. Page 2

Banks across the country are unwitting pawns in an increasingly popular scam to launder billions in drug money, a former Colombian currency broker told lawmakers. Page 2

COMMUNITY BANKING

A St. Paul community bank is using its check-cashing service to attract customers. Page 5

REGIONAL BANKING

Andersen Consulting has new information to feed bankers' inferiority complex. Studying the performance records of 150 leading financial service companies, the consulting firm identified 21 that qualified for elite status. Of the 21, only five were bank holding companies, and a sixth was a thrift company. Page 6

CORPORATE FINANCE

Fleet is setting up an asset-securitization conduit, Blue Keel Funding LLC, for corporate customers to convert their receivables into securities. Page 9

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

Crestar will launch bankwide customer service guarantees to attract customers from competitors that First Union and Wachovia are buying. Page 10

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs

Visa will offer members of its Plus automated teller machine network the ability to dispense items other than cash. Page 11

TECHNOLOGY

ON-LINE BANKING: A group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs has set out to correct a flaw in the digital certification process that many Internet experts have been counting on to make Internet commerce secure. Page 14

MARKET MONITOR

Shares of CoreStates fell Wednesday as investors concluded that a sale of the Philadelphia bank has become less likely any time soon. Page 14

WEEKLY REPORT: INTERNATIONAL

A senior U.S. banker has warned that a new round of economic and financial reform will be necessary in Latin America. Page 12

After many years of doing little business in Turkey, U.S. banks are looking to this country of 62 million people as a new link in their emerging-markets networks. Page 13

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