REGIONAL
North Carolina credit unions began a campaign to win the hearts-and possibly the wallets-of bank customers by offering surcharge-free ATMs. Page 7
COMMUNITY
A group of prominent Texan bankers and business leaders is looking to raise $100 million of capital for a Texas-sized start-up banking company. Page 8
MORTGAGES
HOME EQUITY: Nowhere is the disparity between merger partners Wells Fargo and Norwest more apparent than in subprime consumer finance. Page 10
First Union handed Southern Pacific Funding a $300 million warehouse facility, furthering the bank's commitment to the subprime lending industry. Page 10
DIGITAL FRONTIERS
SMART CARDS: Mondex International is preparing to offer what it calls a tool kit that banks and partners in other industries can use to build loyalty incentives into its cards' computer chips. Page 13
WASHINGTON
administration officials are urging the Fed to let banks collect data on borrowers' race and gender. The process would likely lead to "increased access to credit, a greater level of voluntary compliance, and more effective fair-lending enforcement," Attorney General Janet Reno, the Treasury secretary, and five others wrote. Page 4
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
AIM Management Group plans to improve the performance of GT Global's mutual funds as it takes over and looks to boost sales of the fund family through banks and other channels. Page 14
M&T Securities, which is pushing hard to expand its brokerage business, has hired 14 investment executives and will hire 11 more by April. Page 15
TECHNOLOGY
Mainframe computing appears to have thwarted predictions of its demise. New mainframe models and brisk sales of software intended to extend existing machines' life are big factors. Page 16
CORPORATE FINANCE
Salomon Smith Barney was involved in one of the year's biggest corporate lending blunders. But sources say Citigroup would not only keep the Salomon lending unit intact but also strengthen its presence. Page 25
MARKETS
Bank stocks fell in another choppy session, as investors continued to fret about economic turmoil in Asia. Back page
KeyCorp's deal for Cleveland securities firm McDonald & Co. is spurring talk among traders and analysts about the expansion plans of another Ohio company, Star Banc. Back page
