Today's News

WASHINGTON COMPTROLLER Eugene A. Ludwig's recusal from two controversial NationsBank applications could limit his authority, industry lawyers warned. Page 2 The FDIC's insurance division tracks national and regional economic trends with an eye toward avoiding another costly round of bank and thrift failures. Page 3 REGIONAL BANKING Outside directors of big banks are finding more stock in their compensation packages these days, a survey suggests. Page 4 COMMUNITY BANKING Carver Bancorp, the nation's largest minority-owned thrift company, has agreed to buy $100 million of mortgages to help rev up its lending operation. Page 6 CORPORATE FINANCE A group of 15 banks is backing Merrill Lynch's $2 billion loan supporting the acquisition of England's Yorkshire Electricity. Page 8 ANALYST ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS in the latest session were generally bullish on earnings and stock, but concerned about some banks' repurchases. "There's a class of companies that have essentially said they're going to buy back stock come hell or high water," said PaineWebber's Lawrence W. Cohn. Page 12 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS The U.S. Trust executive responsible for handling the troubled Doris Duke estate account has been quietly reassigned. Page 9 MORTGAGES HomeSide, which combined Bank of Boston's and Barnett's servicing portfolios, reported strong earnings in its first public report. Page 11 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs Dean Witter, Discover may have been late for the cobranding train, but its decision to issue a Universal Studios credit card is likely to help it catch up. Page 14 Citicorp, First Union, and a host of technology companies endorsed a technology from Sun Microsystems as their preferred platform for smart card development. Page 15 TECHNOLOGY The Bank Administration Institute's annual transaction processing exhibition largely delivered on its promise to look beyond the usual check- processing issues. Page 16 MARKET MONITOR Alex. Brown & Sons' stock surged on rumors that Bankers Trust would acquire the Baltimore brokerage firm. Back page LETTERS Page 7