Today's News

WASHINGTON: A FEDERAL appeals court in Philadelphia has made it easier for the government to successfully sue directors and officers of failed thrifts, reigniting a legal debate the industry thought it already had won. Page 2 WATERING DOWN consumer protections and charging high bank fees will only lead to customer revolt, consumer activist Ralph Nader warned the presidents of two bank trade groups. Page 2 REGIONAL BANKING: FIRST HAWAIIAN Bank has agreed to buy all of the Hawaiian retail deposits of a General Electric Capital Corp. unit for an undisclosed sum. Page 4 COMMUNITY BANKING: Shorebank Corp. faces myriad challenges in its pending acquisition of the nation's largest black-owned bank - not the least of which is its own flagging performance. Page 6 LESS THAN two weeks after a Massachusetts holding company's attempt to enter New Hampshire via acquisition flopped, the company is trying to start a subsidiary there. Page 6 COMPLIANCE: A LITTLE-NOTICED section in the House version of the regulatory relief bill would exempt many larger banks from a 1991 requirement that they maintain an audit committee composed exclusively of outside directors. Page 9 COMPLIANCE GIANT Bankers Systems Inc. has teamed up with Fiserv to offer software that facilitates compliance with lending-related regulations. Page 9 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: THE TRUST UNIT of Boatmen's Bancshares is sizing up some new ways to deliver services to its wealthy clientele. Page 12 SPURRED BY recent acquisitions and its parent's obsession with technological efficiency, the trust and investment unit of First Bank System has embarked on a cost-cutting plan. Page 12 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs: SUSAN ALLARD, a headhunter in San Francisco, sees escalating demand for experts in cobranding and smart cards. Page 14 Europay International has announced an alliance that will add Thomas Cook's travelers checks to its line of "pay before" products. Page 14 TECHNOLOGY: IN A MOVE aimed at curbing the growth of fraud, the Arizona Bankers Association is leading a statewide campaign to use fingerprints to verify some checks. Page 17 STRENGTHENING its position in the mortgage automation market, Servantis Systems Inc. has acquired MLN Enterprises Inc., a privately held software firm based in Boca Raton, Fla. Page 17 FINANCE: SEEING a profit taking opportunity, PaineWebber analyst Thomas McCandless cut his rating on Keycorp to "unattractive" from "neutral." He also cut Capital One Financial to "attractive" from "buy." Back page