Today's News

REGIONAL BANKING:

WHEN GERALD J. FORD became chief executive of First Nationwide last fall, he said he would shed the thrift's widely dispersed branch networks outside California and expand in the state. He may finally be putting this strategy into gear. Page 3

COMMUNITY BANKING:

LINNET DEILY of First Interstate Bank of Texas takes issue with recent claims by community banks that rapid consolidation by out-of-state institutions has diminished big banks' civic participation. Page 4

MORTGAGES:

WASHINGTON-area lenders and community organizers have formed a group to review mortgage applications that are turned down. Page 8

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS:

BOOMING mutual funds sales already help float the boat at Missouri's largest banking company. And the announced acquisition of Fourth Financial will give Boatmen's Bancshares another $700 million of proprietary mutual fund assets. Yet, how the banks will consolidate their fund families remains unclear. Page 9

CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs:

MAESTRO International, MasterCard's global on-line debit program, has elected Steven L. VanFleet general manager. Page 11

TECHNOLOGY:

FIRST COMMERCE Bancorp, Commerce, Ga., has become the first bank to purchase an image-based check processing system developed by Greenway Corp. Page 12

FINANCE:

IS MELLON BANK Corp. for sale? Investors seem to think so. Shares of the Pittsburgh-based bank are up 13% since early last week, with merger speculation driving much of the rise, analysts said. Back page

CITIBANK and Credit Suisse have been chosen to lead a $10 billion credit for Walt Disney Co.'s acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc. Back page

COMPLIANCE:

JOHN J. BYRNE, senior federal legislative counsel at the American Bankers Association, once had to fight to get an audience with influential government officials. But now, on topics ranging from money laundering to environmental liability, people want to hear what he has to say.

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THE OFFICE of Thrift Supervision kicked off a yearlong regulatory relief campaign this week with a proposal to restructure its rulebook and drop some out-of-date rules. Page 6

ALTHOUGH ITEM processing is highly automated, a number of inefficiencies still exist, and the business could be three times more efficient than it is now, John H. Taylor writes. Thus it offers banks a big opportunity for cost savings. Page 12

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