Today's News

WASHINGTON

Most banks would continue to offer sweep accounts even if the Fed paid interest on reserves, according to a government survey. Page 2

REGIONAL

Highlighting banks' difficulty in projecting unique brand images, a recent survey found that business executives do not perceive many differences among the nation's largest banks. Page 6

MORTGAGES

A star trader at Morgan Stanley is said to have resigned, and sources said it was partly because the firm was reluctant to invest more capital in pass-through trading. Page 10

MONTHLY REPORT: MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGY

Contour Software is taking mortgage loan processing to the Internet with a system that gives borrowers, lenders, realty agents, underwriters, wholesalers, and insurers Internet access to loan files. Page 12

DIGITAL FRONTIERS

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: Barclays Bank of the United Kingdom has launched Endorse, a digital signature service for Internet security. Currently tested by small businesses registering with U.K. tax authorities, Endorse is one of the first attempts by a bank to make a business out of on-line customer authentication. Page 15

CARDS

Just as consumers seek out familiar supermarket brands, they look for their banks' network logos when making ATM transactions. Page 13

TECHNOLOGY

E-commerce is more popular than home banking among Internet households, research shows. Page 16

After helping Bank of Montreal develop an on-line loan approval system, American Management Systems is hoping to sell the software more widely. Page 17

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

INSURANCE: Sales of fixed annuities have taken a hard fall, but one bank seller of these retirement investments has little to fret about. Page 18

CORPORATE FINANCE

Before accepting a job at NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, Wall Street veteran W. Carter McClelland weighed the NationsBank corporate client base, which he said hasn't been significantly mined. Page 21

MARKETS

Bank of New York's failed run at Mellon did nothing to hurt its results, chairman Thomas Renyi is telling Wall Street. Page 30

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