WASHINGTON
Momentum is building for enactment this year of a regulatory relief bill that would cut red tape and permit the payment of interest on required reserves and business checking accounts. Page 2
REGIONAL
Moving toward its merger with Wells Fargo, Norwest could become a source of talent for otherMinnesota financial institutions. Page 6
MORTGAGES
Norwest is strongly considering the purchase of Avco Financial, a $7.7 billion-asset consumer finance company, sources say. Page 8
Access Capital Strategies has launched a mutual fund designed to act as a national secondary market for Community Reinvestment Act loans. Page 8
DIGITAL FRONTIERS
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: With an assist from Intel, Valicert's digital certificate technology has taken a credibility-enhancing leap. Page 11
CARDS
Consumers continue to accumulate credit card debt and are slowing their pace of paying it off, according to Veribanc. "The fact that the consumer spending boom is growing like gangbusters . . . suggests that card issuers are going to have a banner year," says Warren Heller, research director at Veribanc. Page 10
TECHNOLOGY
The Treasury has transmitted the first twoE-checks seven months behind schedule. Page 11
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
A SMALL African-American-owned bank in Louisiana has taken the unusual step of launching its own mutual fund. Page 13
It will be another three to five years before banksbegin to register consistent profits in the lifeinsurance business, experts predict. Page 14
COMMUNITY
Under pressure from analysts to deploy excess capital, Westamerica said it would repurchase 7% of its 42.7 million outstanding shares. Page 16
CORPORATE FINANCE
Fleet and BankAmerica have started making small commercial real estate loans, entering a business some say is being neglected because of bank mergers. Page 25
MARKETS
CHASE shares got a lift when the stock gained a spot on Salomon Smith Barney's annual list of "exceptional names" among publicly held companies. Back page
