WASHINGTON
Another insurer, Principal Financial, won government approval to add banking products to its extensive menu of financial services. Page 2
REGIONAL BANKING
What do you do when you are stuck in a bureaucratic rut? More and more bankers are quitting to start their own banks. Page 6
BankAmerica established a beachhead in New England. A new Boston office will offer small-business lending, real estate leasing, and automobile financing. Page 7
CORPORATE FINANCE
Responding to increased competition for business loans, many banks are cutting prices, reducing collateral requirements, and accepting riskier borrowers, the Fed says. Page 8
COMMUNITY BANKING
Passbooks and comfortable lobbies won't bring in the younger generation of bank customers, so some community banks are going after them with an aggressive sales strategy and Internet banking. Page 9
Bucking a trend, a Montana banking company is trading in its federal charters. Page 9
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
Predictions that tax code changes would stunt the growth of variable annuity sales at banks and other brokers were premature. Page 15
MORTGAGES
Travelers' deal to buy Salomon Brothers looks like bad news for mortgage-backed securities traders at Travelers' Smith Barney. Salomon's fabled operation stands so tall in the industry that Smith Barney people are already calling around looking for new jobs. Page 25
The Internet may make it easier for prospective homebuyers to shop for rates, but it is not yet clear that borrowers will ever be comfortable applying for loans on-line. Page 26
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs
Two major North American smart card trials announced breakthroughs in card acceptance. Page 28
TECHNOLOGY
MasterCard has completed installation of its modernized network for transaction processing in the United States, Canada, and Singapore. Page 29
MARKET MONITOR
NationsBank may be underestimating the amount of deposits it will have to unload to merge with Barnett, some analysts say. Page 38
BankBoston shares surged shot up after the company disclosed it had lost only $20 million on its securities and foreign exchange trading in October. Back page
