Capital Briefs: Top Execs Ask D'Amato to Advance Reform Bill

The leaders of 39 bank, securities, and insurance companies on Tuesday urged Senate Banking Committee Chairman Alfonse M. D'Amato to push forward the financial services reform bill that the House approved last month.

The chief executives-including Sanford I. Weill of Travelers Group, David A. Coulter of BankAmerica Corp., Hugh L. McColl Jr. of NationsBank Corp., and David H. Komanski of Merrill Lynch & Co.-emphasized that a unique combination of interests are finally aligned behind the bill.

"An historic consensus exists across the financial services marketplace," according to the letter to Sen. D'Amato and Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland, the committee's ranking Democrat. "For the first time, leaders of banks, securities firms and insurance companies have joined together in the cause of financial modernization."

Without legislation, foreign firms could dominate the financial services market, they warned.

"Should Congress fail to act this year, the restructuring of the global financial industry will simply proceed while American institutions remain handicapped by antiquated laws," they wrote.

Compiled by Dean Anason

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