Today's News

WASHINGTON

the FDIC has decided to revise and delay until next year a plan to make more institutions pay for deposit insurance. Page 4

Two senators who are pushing a bill to reform the Federal Home Loan Bank System have watered down their legislation, but they may not have gone far enough to appease critics. Page 4

COMMUNITY

Shares of VerticalNet jumped 184% in their first day of trading, much to the delight of the community thrift that became its first lender and got warrants for shares as part of the deal. Page 9

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

INSURANCE: Fleet is targeting small businesses with an alternative to a traditional 401(k) program - a group annuity. Page 10

Trustmark of Mississippi is making a big annuity push, licensing 108 branch employees as salespeople and launching a proprietary fixed-return product. Page 11

REGIONAL

Charter One Financial resembles a bank in every respect but one: a lagging stock price. Shares of the Cleveland-based thrift trail those of similar-size com-mercial banks. "We have a far inferior price-to-earnings ratio than even the average bank," says chairman and CEO Charles John Koch. Page 6

MORTGAGES

As refinancings recede, Wall Street is warming to mortgage-backed securities. Page 14

Chase said it plans to buy the branch networks of First Town Mortgage and HomeSouth Mortgage. Page 14

MARKET MONITOR

Free-Spending consumers fueled last year's robust economic expansion, but some economists warn that the trend is not sustainable. Page 17

CARDS Page 25

DIGITAL FRONTIERS

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: If banks want to be the primary providers of digital wallets for Internet commerce, they first must contend with Internet merchants and portals. Page 37

TECHNOLOGY

Joining the list of core banking software providers offering outsourcing services to banks, Sanchez Computer Associates agreed to buy Artech Financial Services. Page 39

CORPORATE FINANCE

As the decade draws to a close, BankBoston and Fleet have emerged from hard times in the early 1990s with sharply differing approaches to the real estate business. Back page

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