MORTGAGES
Wall Street layoffs have hit mortgage trading desks at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank especially hard. Page 5
REGIONAL
KeyCorp wants to bolster its wealth-management and brokerage business in the Pacific Northwest and would consider deals there, a bank official said. Page 8
DIGITAL FRONTIERS
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: Small Value Payments, a big-bank electronic check processing consortium, could become the catalyst for widespread adoption of electronic check presentment, experts say. Page 19
COMMUNITY
When State Farm Bank opens next spring, about 300 insurance agencies will be transformed into de facto bank branches. "The barriers to enter the banking business are coming down," said John B. McCoy, president and chief executive of Bank One, last week at the Retail Delivery conference. Page 14
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
INSURANCE: Chase Manhattan has added title insurance to its growing product menu through a joint venture with four underwriters. Page 15
When banks decide to buy insurance agencies, they often turn to Marsh, Berry & Co., an Ohio M&A specialist. Page 16
CARDS
The upscale department store chain Nordstrom hopes, in seeking a thrift charter, to supplement the credit cards that it issues with an array of financial products. Page 18
The market for ATMs may seem saturated, but some experts say there are still opportunities for banks that want to pursue deployment plans. Page 18
TECHNOLOGY
Banks' recent forays into PC and Internet banking are bringing out the worst in technology investment decision-making, a study found. Page 20
MARKETS
Shares of Mech Financial are gaining favor as analysts focus on a new tax law that is favorable to its mortgage business and on the continued resurgence of the Hartford, Conn., economy. Back page
