Today's News

WASHINGTON: THE SUPREME COURT refused to hear an appeal of a major lender-liability case, forcing the industry to focus on Congress for relief. Page 2 THE CASE of an Ohio banker whom the Fed is trying to ban from the industry will provide a rare public glimpse into the inner workings of the agency's disciplinary process. It may also tell the industry just how capable the central bank is of backing up charges it brings. Page 3 COMMUNITY BANKING: A FEDERAL JUDGE ruled that the former president of an Ohio thrift, who filed a "whistleblower" suit against the institution, should not be reinstated to his position. Page 6 BOSTON BANCORP has revised its financial results from fiscal year 1994, reducing net income by $2.2 million for the fourth quarter and taking further unrealized securities losses of $3.7 million. Page 7 MORTGAGES: A PROMINENT figure in mortgage origination technology is up in arms because HUD rules in effect bar many users of electronic lending networks from making FHA loans. Page 8 STANDARD FEDERAL Bank expects to report that it had record earnings in 1994. But stock analysts are worried over shrinking interest rate margins at the Troy, Mich., thrift. Page 9 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NBD BANCORP has added a short-term bond fund and an international equity fund to its proprietary Woodward family. Page 17 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: MASTERCARD has enriched its MasterValues for Business program with targeted offers in the business services, travel, and hospitality industries. Page 18 AMERICAN EXPRESS is adding some new features to its year-old corporate purchasing card program in a drive to distinguish its product from competitors. Page 19 TECHNOLOGY: TO CURB CHECK fraud, more corporate clients of big banks are moving to "positive pay" programs, in which information about recently issued checks is sent electronically to the bank so it can notify the company about presented items that the company may not have issued. Page 20 SOUTHTRUST Corp. plans to join the growing number of financial institutions that have applied image technology to their check operations. Page 21 FINANCE: COMMERCIAL real estate securitization, which had been used primarily to refinance bad thrift debt, has come into its own as a day-to-day financing tool. Page 26 To our readers: Beginning with today's edition, the daily stock tables have a new look and more analytical information. The redesigned tables feature a listing of top 50 banks and special categories for regions. Each grouping now has its own daily index so you can easily compare banks with their peers. See page 27.