Today's News

WASHINGTON

First Union chairman Edward E. Crutchfield predicted the first $1 trillion-asset bank would be created in Europe within two years. Page 2

As the House vote on financial reform nears, what has changed since Republicans were forced to yank the legislation at the last minute? Not much. Page 4

REGIONAL

Colonial BancGroup of Montgomery, Ala., is planning a big expansion into Texas. Page 5

COMMUNITY

The management of United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, has led a buyout of the bank's owner, an Indonesian investment group. Page 7

CORPORATE FINANCE

The lBO community is increasingly relying on institutional term loans to finance its deals. Page 12

MORTGAGES

As chairman of Dime, metropolitan New York's largest thrift, Lawrence J. Toal often finds himself at the center of a storm of merger gossip-but he remains unfazed. He says he does not "feel any great compulsion to do a deal," despite the merger mania and record stock market valuations. Page 10

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

National City promoted two executives to new posts in its private-client group and filled a vacancy, in moves that reflected expansion of the group. Page 13

TECHNOLOGY

Praise for HNC Software has not produced a stock price bonanza. Page 14

CARDS

merchant-acquiring banks and independent sales organizations have created a clearing house for information on fraud activity. Page 18

MARKET MONITOR

The first important economic signpost in this quarter, the April jobs report, seemed to point both ways at once: The jobless rate plunged, but evidence of industrial weakness surfaced. Page 25

Rabobank became the latest Dutch bank to grab a piece of the U.S. financial services market, with a deal to buy Weiss Peck & Greer, a New York investment management firm. Back page

WEEKLY REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS

In the wake of its purchase last year of Boatmen's Bancshares, NationsBank is trying to standardize the way it serves small-business customers nationwide. Page 8

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