Today's News

WASHINGTON

The OCC gave Canada's largest bank permission to operate a virtual bank in the United States. Page 2

NATIONAL/GLOBAL

Wachovia has pulled out of the breakaway lobbying group it helped found only two and a half years ago, citing the cost of membership. Page 5

COMMUNITY/REGIONAL

Activist shareholders are pressing two Northeast thrift companies to sell. One is being targeted by a critic turned director. Page 12

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

Centura of North Carolina is shopping for insurance agencies to buy after its effort to build a unit by hiring talent was battered by attrition. Page 13

The new head of the brokerage unit at Compass is re-energizing the bank's platform program, in which bankers do double duty as brokers. Page 14

MORTGAGES

Investors will finally get an opportunity to scour earnings reports from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for evidence of a price war between them. Page 16

The big guys keep getting bigger, as more small lenders sell their mortgage servicing portfolios. A Pennsylvania bank is the latest to join the trend. Page 16

CARDS

Credit card issuers are eager to move from paper to electronic billing, but consumers are cold to the idea, according to a study by PSI Global. Page 19

TECHNOLOGY

The Banking Industry Technology Secretariat has firmed up plans for its security laboratory, setting an opening date of July 28 in Reston, Va. Page 21

MARKETS

The value of the top five bank mergers announced during the first half of 1999 plunged more than 75% from the year earlier. Page 29

Wells Fargo shares tumbled on news of a rare downgrade as an analyst questioned how mortgage profits can be sustained. Back page

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