Today's News

WASHINGTON The House Commerce chairman vowed to use the financial reform bill to reverse decisions that the comptroller of the currency made on bank insurance sales. The FDIC decided not to regulate stored-value cards. REGIONAL BANKING Bank of New York reduced its controversial stake in State Street by more than 1 percentage point, according to documents it filed with the SEC. Wachovia's deal to buy Central Fidelity Banks has investors bidding up the stock of other Virginia banks in anticipation of further consolidation in the state. COMMUNITY BANKING Carver Bancorp in New York, the nation's largest minority-owned financial institution, is asking shareholders to vote against an investor's proposal to sell the company. CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs CARD FRONTIERS: Hewlett-Packard and Verifone unveiled a PC smart card reader. Visa signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese central bank to help develop smart card standards. Dennis M. Goggin, president of Visa's Asia-Pacific region, said the agreement underscores China's commitment to modernize its payment systems and solidifies Visa's role in the program. INVESTMENT PRODUCTS Wells Fargo launched a counterattack against a lawsuit claiming that it and mutual fund partners stole an idea for some innovative funds. The second-quarter bull market has been a boon to general equity funds, which returned 13.7% through mid-June. MORTGAGES HOME EQUITY: Most traditional lenders in the business are maintaining high standards for loan quality despite heavy competition, a study indicates. Banks and thrifts at Piper Jaffray's annual investor conference in Minneapolis were cruising for smaller companies to acquire-and finding slimpickings. TECHNOLOGY Mondex said it has completed a global standard for Internet transactions with support from several leading electronic commerce companies. A Canadian company claims it has a unique product that can spur the acceptance of biometricidentification. MARKET MONITOR Bank stocks tried to recover from Monday's slide, as investors returned in full force.