Today's News

WASHINGTON As some key lawmakers move to break down the barriers between banks and nonfinancial companies, House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach remains defiantly opposed. Page 3 MORTGAGES Chase Manhattan's subprime mortgage lending arm is planning dramatic expansion in 1997. Page 6 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS Bankers are struggling with how to turn their branches into effective mutual fund distribution networks. Page 8 First Nationwide is beefing up its insurance program by training 250 platform personnel to get licenses to sell life and disability policies. Page 9 TECHNOLOGY ON-LINE BANKING: A prominent electronic banking executive who left Barnett has joined a consulting firm. Page 10 REGIONAL BANKING Martin Gerwitz has his work cut out for him as president of a Norwest branch on a Navajo reservation in Window Rock, Ariz. It's not a bank-friendly environment, he says, and locals were hostile when Norwest came in. But the bank's four branches on reservations are now its most profitable in the state. Page 4 INTERNATIONAL Bankers and analysts estimated that the dollar's climb on foreign exchange markets would have a negligible impact on first-quarter earnings. Page 13 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs Associates First Capital has become a force for bank credit card issuers to reckon with, but not without a price. Page 24 Citicorp's winning the lucrative electronic benefits transfer contract for seven northeastern states has been overturned by a state court. Page 25 COMMUNITY BANKING An Alabama thrift's switch to a commercial bank charter could be the first of several in the state this year. Page 26 MARKET MONITOR For investors trying to predict when bank stocks could be due for a crash, the traditional rules of the road may no longer apply. Back page Bank of Boston still wants to sell its subprime auto finance unit, but options may be limited after the ill-fated deal to sell it to Mercury Finance. Back page

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