WASHINGTON
RESPONDING TO housing advocates, HSBC agreed to double its CRA lending and investment in the New York City area by 2004. Page 2
AS IF BILL CLINTON and Jesse Jackson weren't enough, defenders of the CRA have found a new champion: comedian Al Franken. Page 4
NATIONAL/GLOBAL
EFFORTS BY SHAREHOLDER Franklin Mutual Advisers to force Commercial Federal into a sale are gaining momentum. Page 5
BANK OF AMERICA says it is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to put its name on everything from branch signs to door handles to establish itself as an international brand. Page 6
MORTGAGES
THE LATEST RISE in housing starts may be deceptive, as the July increase was a break-even rebound from a decrease the month before. Page 9
MARKET MONITOR
HOW INDEPENDENT are stock analysts' recommendations? The issue was thrust into sharp relief recently by Bear Stearns' crackdown on analyst Sean Ryan, whose criticism of First Union nearly cost his employer $10 million a year in revenue. Page 21
CONTIFINANCIAL said that its banks have extended until March 2000 what had been an Aug. 20 deadline for repayment of $422 million of debt. Back page
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
NEARLY TWO YEARS after launching its bank sales division, American Century Investments is making headway in sales and is selling to a growing roster of banks. Page 10
CHASE HAS COMBINED its U.S. equity management functions, transferring $10 billion of assets from New York to Houston. Page 10
CARDS
SCHLUMBERGER, the French chip card and terminal supplier, has won a contract with Denver for parking meters that accept credit cards. Page 14
TECHNOLOGY
INTERCEPT GROUP is seeing a dramatic rise in stock price and revenues as it expands its Internet banking services operation through acquisitions and attractive prices. Page 12
ON-LINE BANKING
BANKS SHOULD get ready to welcome more women to their Web sites, a survey suggests. Women are increasingly going on-line and are more inclined to use the Internet for business, the research said. Page 13
