Today's News

WASHINGTON

In a victory for directors and officers, the U.S. Supreme Court made it tougher for regulators to hold top officials responsible for bank and thrift failures. Page 2

A Philadelphia credit union may have set a precedent by challenging another credit union on its authority to broaden membership. Page 3

REGIONAL BANKING

Midsize regional banks reporting fourth quarter earnings mostly showed profit gains fueled by strong loan and fee income, although results at one bank lagged due to credit card problems. Page 4

NationsBank said it has signed 250,000 customers - two-and-a-half times what it originally expected by yearend - to bank from home using personal computers. Page 5

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

The architect of Eaton Vance's bank sales effort resigned to run a new fund family at Bear Stearns. Page 8

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs

Oregon's Orchard Federal Savings is hoping to profit from other banks' stiffer underwriting criteria by launching a secured credit card for people with weak credit histories. Page 9

Target Stores' pilot Visa card program ended abruptly when the Dayton Hudson unit pulled out of a deal with First Bank System. Page 9

COMMUNITY BANKING

A Los Angeles-area thrift company is moving its headquarters south in search of mortgage business in the San Diego area, which banks and thrifts have been leaving for most of the 1990s. Page 12

Community banks in the Carolinas and Georgia are vying for the deposits of about 50 branches that Wachovia plans to sell or close. Page 12

MORTGAGES

With traditional mortgage products on their way to becoming obsolete at many institutions, product development is vital for thrifts to survive. Page 13

TECHNOLOGY

Bankers Systems forged an alliance with Fiserv to package its Windows- based loan-document software with Fiserv's automated loan processing system. Page 14

CORPORATE FINANCE

The corporate finance job market was hotter than ever in 1996. Morgan Stanley was one firm that picked off a seasoned loan pro from a commercial bank. After establishing its loan syndication business this year, Morgan Stanley hired R. Bram Smith, the former head of the bank loan group at Bankers Trust New York, as a managing director and head of its senior loan group. Page 21

First Chicago has turned to Robert W. Baird to help fill out its corporate finance product line. Page 21

MARKET MONITOR

J.P. Morgan shares were downgraded by a PaineWebber analyst who said the stock was getting too expensive. Back page

More U.S. institutional investors are putting their dollars into Yankee bank bonds as yields of U.S. bank bonds become less attractive. Back page

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