Today's News

WASHINGTON Though the government put out one fire over a controversial Chicago Fed pilot program, it failed to stamp out the major criticism. Page 4 REGIONAL BANKING patience is the key to educating low-income customers about electronic banking, executives say. Page 5 COMMUNITY BANKING Business is booming at the nation's newest bankers' bank. Page 9 MORTGAGES Marine Midland plans to create a mortgage company focusing on wholesale lending. Page 12 Critics of insurance products known as GSE pools say the policies are too risky. Page 12 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS aMERICAN Express is selling advice and investments in branches of an inner- city Philadelphia bank. Page 14 OppenheimerFunds recently brought 75 sales managers to New York for a weekend gathering. Page 15 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs Apple Computer executive Robin Abrams is joining Verifone to oversee sales in its Americas group. The firm is "moving to have product acceptance on an international level," said consultant Stanley Anderson, and Ms. Abrams is "someone who would suit that strategy." Page 16 Two credit card consultants have applied for charters to open banks, and other consultancies have considered doing so. Page 16 TECHNOLOGY Verifone is betting on electronic commerce, and analysts are cautiously optimistic it can meet its revenue goal of $1.2 billion by 2000. Page 18 CORPORATE FINANCE The CFO of the biotechnology company Genzyme looks for relationships, not merely deals, with investment banks. Page 24 MARKET MONITOR Mutual insurance companies may follow the stock conversion trail blazed by thrifts. Page 25 WASHINGTON MUTUAL sweetened its share exchange to get Great Western to accept its white knight bid, a filing disclosed. The Seattle thrift, under pressure from the SEC, also delayed discussing the deal with analysts until regulatory filings were completed. Back page