WASHINGTON
Trying to resuscitate financial reform, three executives-one each from banking, securities, and insurance-have come up with a compromise. Page 2
COMMUNITY
Asia's financial meltdown is slowly affecting Asia-connected community banks in California, according to a survey by the state bankers association. Page 7
For advice on what young people want from a bank, First Bank of Tallahassee, Fla., created an 18-member young business advisory board, staffed mostly by recent college graduates who work in the area. Page 7
CORPORATE FINANCE
Banks could destabilize the securities industry by pushing too hard for profits from the investment banking firms they have been snapping up, says Standard & Poor's. Page 10
MORTGAGES
Home equity lender Contifinancial has entered the growing business of wringing profits from credit card loans in default. Page 12
REGIONAL
Buffalo-based First Empire State's chairman and CEO, Robert G. Wilmers, fancies himself a community banker at heart. But with its biggest acquisition ever-an $872 million deal to buy Onbancorp of Syracuse-the $14 billion-asset bank is set to become a powerful force across upstate New York. Page 5
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
Wheat First Union, a brokerage subsidiary of First Union, has outsourced its mutual fund wrap account clearing capabilities to San Francisco-based Charles Schwab. Page 14
TECHNOLOGY
Computer Associates' hostile bid for Computer Sciences, if successful, would create a new powerhouse in banking technology. Page 20
One year after pushing into risk management consulting by hiring six principals from Emcor Eurocurrency Management, Ernst & Young is noting a shift in the types of services clients are demanding. Page 22
MARKET MONITOR
First of America has agreed to pay Merrill Lynch $27.5 million in fees for advice in the bank's proposed $7.1 billion sale to National City. Page 35
WEEKLY REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
Owners of small businesses are enjoying abundant credit, but some banks are still neglecting segments of the market, according to a trade group survey. Page 9
