Today's News

WASHINGTON

TRYING TO PULL OFF one victory in Congress this year, the banking industry is intensifying pressure on the administration for tax breaks. Page 2

NCUA CHAIRMAN Norman D'Amours assailed the National Association of Federal Credit Unions for suggesting that doing business with the poor is risky. Page 3

NATIONAL/GLOBAL

FIRST SECURITY has acquired an employee benefits company to enhance the services it offers to employees of its corporate customers. Page 4

COMMUNITY/REGIONAL

FOR A YEAR and a half Westamerica's president has been saying that his company is on the verge of making more acquisitions, but has come up empty-handed. Page 6

MORTGAGES

NEW YORK lender Continental Capital agreed to be bought by a Puerto Rican bank. Page 7

MARKET MONITOR

FEDERAL RESERVE Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the Fed must focus more on surging stock prices and on home values as it sets monetary policy. That could imply that further rate hikes are in the offing if the markets do not cool of their own accord. Page 24

BANK STOCKS were mixed as investors looked for bargains. Analysts said the market was still reacting to the shock of Bank One's earnings announcement. Page 30

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

AN ILLINOIS COMPANY plans to relaunch an Internet insurance portal with features meant to let consumers get bids and buy coverage entirely on-line. Page 8

WHITNEY HOLDING of New Orleans said it will start selling an expanded array of investment products by mid-September. Page 8

CARDS

THE FIRST TIME that the Electronic Transactions Association held a conference, 34 people showed up. This month the event drew 800. Page 12

FISERV HAS FORMED an e-products and services division to promote its electronic commerce technology. Page 14

ON-LINE BANKING

FIRST UNION has ordered 22,000 network security devices from Security Dynamics to secure employees' access to its computer systems from home and on the road. Page 16

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