COMMUNITY BANKING
Charles Meacham of Commonwealth Bancorp near Philadelphia cheered when the CoreStates takeover rumors turned out to be true. Then he began plotting how to steal First Union's customers. Page 6
WASHINGTON
A rescue package for Asian economies should not be used to shield banks from losses in those markets, Treasury Secretary Robert A. Rubin told lawmakers. Page 2
REGIONAL BANKING
Senior accounts with a grab-bag of discounts, fee waivers, and special services are proliferating as banks scramble for the patronage of aging baby boomers. Page 4
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
Citicorp is taking aim at some of the biggest names in discount brokerage by slashing its fees for both electronic and live securities trading. Page 9
CORPORATE FINANCE
BT Alex. Brown, Bankers Trust's emboldened securities unit, said one- third of the 93 deals it did in the fourth quarter involved "cross-sales" to clients that had previously dealt only with the bank or with Alex. Brown. Page 14
MORTGAGES
The price of the typical California single-family home gained more than $22,000 last year - a little over half the ground lost since 1991. Page 16
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs
Credit industry analyst Stuart Feldstein worries about the timing of banks' popular platinum card offers - during an epidemic of bankruptcy filings. Page 19
TECHNOLOGY
First Data shares rose strongly last week despite an earnings announcement that revealed slower-than-expected growth in merchant processing; the company's diversification was seen cushioning it. Page 24
MARKET MONITOR
Shoe leather, not sophisticated analytics, is the chief ingredient for finding winners among small-bank stocks, a seasoned money manager says. Page 33
Economic growth was stronger than most economists suspected in the fourth quarter, but Friday's report on the gross domestic product was not expected to spur a rate hike by the Fed. Page 33
WEEKLY REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
Visa said it will begin promoting a small-business debit card this month and is testing a line of credit in a pilot program with five banks. Page 12
