WASHINGTON
THE HOUSE-SENATE conference committee on financial reform is to reconvene today, but negotiators are struggling with even the simple issues. Page 3
COMMUNITY/REGIONAL
ILLINOIS BANKS seeking loan-sharing partners can surf the Internet in search of that perfect match, thanks to a trade association. Page 5
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
NOW IS THE perfect time to poke around the investment sales organization at your bank, looking for hidden flaws, writes David Sanderford, an NASD arbitrator. Page 6
MARKETS
BANK STOCKS bounced back, encouraging some analysts to believe that the sector has bottomed out. Page 21
U.S. BANKS are expected to avoid sharp losses from the startling rise of the yen against the dollar in the past year. Page 22
BANKBOSTON is planning to use its pending merger with Fleet to expand its operations in Mexico. "We intend to target the top end of the market," said its president and chief operating officer, Henrique Meirelles. The bank also operates in Brazil and Argentina. Page 22
MORTGAGES
MORTGAGE REAL ESTATE investment trusts are having a lackluster year, but have performed better than they did in 1998 -- and better than other financial stocks. Page 7
HOME EQUITY: Conseco has yet to win converts in the financial markets after announcing it would stop using gain-on-sale accounting. Page 9
SMART CARDS
PROTON, the increasingly popular electronic purse system, is on its way to its first implementation in the United Kingdom. Page 10
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
THE OPEN BUYING on the Internet Consortium, which promotes a standard for on-line business-to-business purchasing, released the 2.0 version of its specification. Page 11
BANKS CONTINUE to buy technology designed to improve customer profitability, but most do not know whether their efforts are paying off, according to a new study. Page 12
ON-LINE BANKING
OFFSHORE BANKING via the Internet gained momentum with the official launching of Fsharp, a unit of Bank of Ireland housed on the Isle of Man. Page 14
