Today's News

WASHINGTON congress should make it easier for lenders to foreclose on office buildings, retail stores, and hotels, bankers told a House Judiciary subcommittee. Page 2 KeyCorp's senior vice president of financial risk review tries to ensure that the company's 40 traders don't gamble away its capital. Page 4 REGIONAL BANKING Roney & Co., a 72-year-old securities firm in Detroit, is said to be considering sale. Page 5 COMMUNITY BANKING Despite uncertainty over the charter, a pair of federal thrifts are germinating in Baltimore. One reason: Thrifts are cheaper to launch than banks. Page 6 INVESTMENT PRODUCTS The chairman of Dean Witter, Discover said competition from commercial banks is one major factor driving it to merge with Morgan Stanley. Page 12 Putnam Investments rolled out a paperless program to get mutual fund statements and investment information to clients as soon as possible. Page 13 MORTGAGES in a newspaper ad, Great Western put its spin on the proxy battle. "When the events of the past few months are over . . . our company and our directors will still have their self-respect," proclaimed CEO John Maher. The open letter to Ahmanson directors implied they wouldn't have that comfort. Page 7 CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs First Data and First USA Paymentech signed up to use First Virtual Holdings' buyer and seller PIN system for Internet commerce. Page 15 TECHNOLOGY ON-LINE BANKING: Cybercash licensed Carnegie Mellon University's micropayment technology. Page 16 MARKET MONITOR A death march disguised as a consolidation wave appears about to sweep the subprime auto lending business. Page 22 Bank stocks racked up further gains, despite a report of explosive economic growth that renewed concerns about higher interest rates. Back page WEEKLY REPORT: INTERNATIONAL Citicorp has begun eyeing possible foreign acquisitions after decades of going it alone overseas. Page 10 The Bankers Association for Foreign Trade has grown from a low-key organization into an emerging power among bank policymakers. Page 11