Today's News

WASHINGTON

Confronted with Newt Gingrich's March 4 deadline, lawmakers scrambled to find a compromise on financial reform legislation. Page 2

CORPORATE FINANCE

First Union underwrote its first trust-preferred securities deal for another banking company. Page 4

COMMUNITY

A federal regulator warned community banks at the IBAA's annual convention against taking the year-2000 computer problem too lightly. Page 11

DIGITAL FRONTIERS

SMART CARDS: Diebold has licensed the elliptic curve cryptosystem of Certicom. Page 12

The sponsors of the New York City smart card pilot are fighting bad press. Page 12

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

Brenton Banks of Des Moines created a single sales force this year. Now brokers are selling trust products, and trust officers are selling brokerage products. "The brokerage and trust departments were 'silos,'" said CEO Robert L. DeMeulenaere. "They didn't visit with each other, they didn't work with each other." Page 5

CARDS

PMT Services, an independent service organization in the merchant processing business, has bought Money Transfer Systems, another such group. Page 13

TECHNOLOGY

The merger agreement last month of two companies in the computer network software field may take the Internet security market to a new level. Page 14

MORTGAGES

HOME EQUITY: Don't expect H&R Block to buy up any of the newly for-sale subprime mortgage companies. Page 16

Bank of America and GE Capital Mortgage Insurance have one-upped the government's FHA program. Page 16

MARKETS

After weeks of relative stability, shares of Money Store surged in heavy trading, sparking conjecture that a long-rumored sale was close at hand. Back page

New Electronic Banking Outlet

The discount brokerage subsidiary of Canada's Toronto-Dominion was expected to detail its bid to enter the U.S. retail banking market. Page 26

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