American Banker articles from April 2001

American Banker archives from April 2001

Fleet Makes Mid-Market Bid to Take Manhattan.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Faced with a slowdown in its capital markets businesses and having already maxed out its market share growth opportunities in its New England home base, FleetBoston Financial Corp. has been diverting resources to New York, where it aims to...

Campaign Finance Bill May Let Commercial Banks Stand Out.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... The commercial bank lobby is expected to benefit if the drive to reform campaign finance laws succeeds. That is because the McCain-Feingold legislation, slated for a vote in the Senate today, would ban soft money -- the unlimited amounts of...

Preferred Issues: Citi-Amex Again? Why Story Won't Die.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Some stories, true or not, are simply too good not to repeat. And repeat. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of published stories devoted at least in part to pondering just what a perfect couple Citigroup and American Express would...

TODAY'S NEWS.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... A Utah credit union group has been asked by a state official to pull a commercial that he says suggests banks there are unstable. Page 3 WASHINGTON A Bush administration proposal to increase SBA loan fees is being criticized by...

Overdraft Play Looks Better to Small Banks.(overdraft privilege)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... First Commerce Bank's long search for fee income ended four years ago when it realized the potential of bounced checks. Like most others, the Corpus Christi, Tex, bank would typically let them bounce and then collect a $25 fee. But Strunk &...

Utah Official Asks CU League To Cancel Banks-in-Flux Ad.(Utah League of Credit Unions)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Utah's Department of Financial Institutions wants the Utah League of Credit Unions to pull a television commercial that it calls misleading in suggesting that the state's banks are unstable. "What concerns me is any advertising or public...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... MIDWEST National Processing Co., a Louisville, Ky., provider of merchant credit card processing, has promoted Donna Carbone, a vice president of risk management,and Mark Vogt, a vice president merchant services and financial analysis, to...

Hawke Denies Resignation Rumors; Oxley Wins Vote in Chorus of One.(John D. Hawke)(Michael G. Oxley )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Reports of Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke Jr.'s resignation have been greatly exaggerated. Such talk, first heard by many industry observers in January, was revived last week when Rep. Ken Bentsen told a group of community...

In Brief: SBA 7(a) Fee Hike Comes Under Fire.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Community banking groups are criticizing a portion of the Bush budget plan that would increase fees on loans funded by the Small Business Administration's 7(a) program. Industry groups said higher guarantee fees would dramatically reduce...

In Brief: Keystone Chairman Indicted in W. Va.(First National Bank of Keystone)(Billie Cherry)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Billie Cherry, the former chairman and president of the failed First National Bank of Keystone, has been indicted by a West Virginia grand jury on 25 federal counts of bank fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, conspiracy, and mail fraud....

Calif.'s Hawthorne in Timely Shift Of Lending Policy.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... When Simone Lagomarsino took the helm of Hawthorne Savings Bank in December 1999, one of her first acts was to end the thrift's practice of lending to cash-strapped millionaires. Not that this wasn't a profitable niche for Hawthorne, an El...

In Brief: Merrill Names 2 Investment Execs.(Merrill Lynch and Co. appoints Robert C. Doll, Peter J. Gibbs)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Merrill Lynch & Co. has appointed Robert C. Doll as global chief investment officer and Peter J. Gibbs as global chief operating officer of its global investment management arm. Merrill also announced Wednesday that Carol Galley and Stephen...

In Brief: Pru to Offer Wireless Plan Management.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Prudential Retirement Services announced last week that it would be the first retirement plan provider to allow customers to manage their retirement accounts using wireless devices. The service, which will be launched by the end of the...

In Brief: Fidelity Hires TD Vet For Canadian Unit.(Fidelity Investments appoints Jeffrey R. Carney)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Fidelity Investments has hired Jeffrey R. Carney as president of its Canadian unit. Mr. Carney, who will join Fidelity today, was an executive vice president at Toronto-Dominion Bank, where he was in charge of the full-service retail...

In Brief: Mass. Bank, Uvest In Marketing Pact.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Berkshire Hills Bancorp, the parent company of Berkshire Bank, has begun selling investment products through an alliance with Uvest Investment Services, a Charlotte, N.C., third-party marketer. A floating investment representative will sell...

In Brief: U.S. Bancorp Offers Neb. Tax-Free Fund.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... U.S. Bancorp's fund family has launched a tax-exempt fund for residents of Nebraska. The Nebraska Tax Free Fund, launched March 22, is the 11th tax-free fund in the First American Funds family. It is designed to provide Nebraska residents...

Fidelity Move Underscores Intermediaries' Importance.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... With investment choices expanding and corporate-benefits staffs contracting, employers are relying on intermediaries and advisers more to help with investing their qualified plan benefits, both for themselves and their employees. So...

Hibernia Eyes Expansion in Employee Benefits.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Hibernia Corp.'s largely commercial insurance agency is trying to diversify its revenue stream. To bulk up in the employee benefits business, last month it brought over three specialists and their books of business from the Wright & Percy...

Year Later, Little Payoff in Web P-to-P Payment.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... In the year since person-to-person Internet payment services arrived on the scene, none have ranged far beyond serving auction Web sites, and some experts say they will not go much further until they are paired with services such as bill...

Taken for a Ride in a P-to-P Test Drive.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... A test drive of several person-to-person Internet payment services found that signing up is quick and easy, but transactions do not always go smoothly. The necessary first step -- enrolling for an account -- can be accomplished in minutes...

Refis Boom as Sales Soften in Silicon Valley.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2001... If Silicon Valley real estate were the heartbeat of the nation's residential realty markets, then the national pulse might be seen as faltering. Prices are falling in the California high-tech redoubt. Buyers are more reluctant to open...

In Brief: GE Capital Buying REIT for $2.1 Billion.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... GE Capital announced Friday that it has agreed to buy Franchise Finance Corp. of America, a Scottsdale, Ariz., real estate investment trust, for $2.1 billion. Common shareholders of Franchise Finance are to receive $25 in cash for each...

In Brief: Delta Financial Posts $36M Loss.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2001... The subprime mortgage and home equity lender Delta Financial Corp. on Friday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $36.5 million, against a profit of $2.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. For the year, Delta lost $49.4 million, compared...

In Brief: OpenClose Shutting Site, Slashing Staff.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... OpenClose Technologies announced Friday that it is shutting down its Web multilender marketplace and that 12 of the company's 37 employees will be laid off in the next two months. The company, which says it will now focus more on its...

In Brief: HUD Suspends Two Troubled Programs.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... The Department of Housing and Urban Development has imposed a 120-day suspension of home sales under its Officer Next Door and Teacher Next Door programs after uncovering cases of fraud. The announcement of the suspension was made Thursday...

In Brief: Study Makes Case For Constraint-Easing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2001... A study from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America says that lenders can increase national homeownership rates by creating products that curb borrower constraints. The study, conducted for the institute...

Compubank's Demise May Signal a New Era.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... The sale of Compubank's customer accounts to NetBank Inc. may mark the beginning of a consolidation era among Internet-based banks, which proliferated two years ago but today seem to be outpacing demand. Analysts stronger companies like...

VeriSign Security Breach Said Fixed; Banks Wary.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... VeriSign Inc. said it has fixed the problem that led it to unwittingly issue two digital certificates to a computer criminal posing as a Microsoft Corp. employee, but its resolution has not restored the confidence of some banks, which contend...

In Brief: KeyCorp B-to-B Mart Adds Four Suppliers.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... KeyCorp's KeyNext unit has added four suppliers to its KeyProcure online business-to-business marketplace: AFD Contract Furniture, Corporate Software, NeoSafety, and Flowers Online. A fifth, Corporate Express, has been selling its office...

In Brief: Nat City and Yodlee In Aggregation Deal.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... National City Corp. has an agreement with Yodlee Inc. to provide account aggregation services to the banking company's retail and small-business customers. The free service will be available in the second quarter. Customers will be able to...

In Brief: Canada's e-route Unveils webdoxs.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... e-route Inc., a bill payment and presentment company owned by a group of Canadian financial institutions, has unveiled a service that lets consumers receive bills and other documents directly through bank Web sites. Ford Credit Canada...

In Brief: Small-Biz e-Banking Up in NFO Survey.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Seventeen percent of small businesses surveyed by NFO WorldGroup-Financial Services said they used online banking services in the past year, up from 10% in NFO's survey a year earlier. "Most of the new growth has come from top banks...

JPM-Chase Bonuses Survive Merger.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s top executives got bonuses last year, unlike some of their peers at other banking companies. Chairman Douglas A. Warner 3d took home a $13.7 million bonus last year, up 197.8% from a year earlier. He also received...

In Brief: First Financial of Ind. Buying Illinois Bank.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... First Financial Corp. said Friday that it has agreed to buy Community Financial Corp. of Olney, Ill., for about $20 million. The deal would extend the Illinois market share of the buyer's Terre Haute First National Bank subsidiary. ...

In Brief: OMB Sets Review of GSE Capital Rules.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... The federal government's long-awaited capital rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cleared another hurdle last week when the Office of Management and Budget announced it would complete its review within three months. The rules have been in...

In Brief: Ameritrade Plans to Cut 170 Positions.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Ameritrade Holding Corp. plans to cut about 7.4% of its staff to cut costs in the face of the market downturn, according to Dow Jones. The online brokerage firm said Friday that it will eliminate about 170 of its 2,300 full-time positions...

Profit Warnings Resound As 1Q Slouches to Close.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... Several banking companies rushed last week to prepare Wall Street for disappointing earnings before the first quarter closed. Both Wachovia Corp. and Bank of New York Co. told analysts to expect some credit-quality problems in their...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2001... In Thursday's issue, two lists of banks in the "Industry Snapshot" tables were mislabeled. The tables presented data on the 150 highest-ROA banks with $25 million to $1 billion of assets. In the "By efficiency ratio" rankings on page 9, the...

In Brief: Principal Financial Demutualization Step.(Principal Financial Group to become stock company)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... The Principal Financial Group said Monday that its board of directors has voted unanimously in favor of a plan to convert from a mutual insurance holding company to a stock company. That authorizes management to begin demutualization, which...

In Brief: N.Y. Life Has New Single Premium.(New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... New York Life has introduced a single-premium variable universal life product that gives policyholders tax-deferred growth of their premium dollars. A guaranteed death benefit equal to the policy's face amount is also available, and the...

In Brief: Hancock Teams Up With AnnuityNet.(John Hancock Financial Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... John Hancock Financial Services Inc. has begun a partnership with AnnuityNet and is using it to market its new eVariable Annuity. The product is available through AnnuityNETAdvisor.com, a management system for financial advisers, and...

Union Planters Campaign To Retain 401(k) Assets.(developing new services)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2001... Union Planters Corp. is working on a program to help it retain retirement-plan assets after retirement. The program includes an online IRA service center to be launched in the fourth quarter -- with the help of a new record-keeping firm --...

Visa Gives Amex 150 Million Thanks.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... A senior Visa U.S.A. executive tipped his hat to American Express Co. at the eCard 2001 conference here last week, giving the rival card firm credit for bringing smart cards to the U.S. public. Though Visa has been playing catch-up to...

Amex Site Promotes Blue and Brokerage.(American Express Co. launches Brokerage for Blue)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... In an ongoing effort to make its Blue smart card useful on the Internet, American Express Co. has introduced Brokerage for Blue, a Web site linked to the Blue pages that offers investor tips and encourages visitors to sign up for American...

CFI: Ex-Officer's Fund Grab Delays 4Q Results.(CFI Mortgage Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2001... CFI Mortgage Inc. on Monday said it will need more time to report its fourth-quarter earnings because of problems associated with a continuing investigation of a former executive. In an interview, the Clearwater, Fla., lender's chief...

HSBC Chief: E-Banking Opens Doors -- Out.
April 3, 2001... Taking a contrary viewpoint to the accepted wisdom that wireless and Internet banking services promote loyalty, Youssef A. Nasr, president and chief executive officer of HSBC USA, said the advent of such services has inadvertently made it...

Clarification.(Friday Issue, page 1)(Correction Notice)
April 3, 2001... Because of an editing error, the page 1 story "NY Home Loan Chief Would Welcome Fleet" in Friday's issue implied that Washington Mutual Inc. is based in Stockton, Calif. It is based in Seattle; its Washington Mutual Bank FA, the unit that has...

Amex Warns of 18% Hit From Junk Bond Losses.(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2001... American Express Co. warned investors on Monday that its first-quarter profits will probably fall 18% because of losses sustained in the junk bond market. In a press statement, the company said it will be forced to take a $185 million...

In Brief: Grace's Chapter 11 Filing Names Big Banks.(W.R. Grace and Co.)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... W.R. Grace & Co. sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its U.S. subsidiaries on Monday, saying it needs time to respond to a sharply rising number of asbestos-related lawsuits. In the filing in Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.,...

In Brief: Bank Plus Negotiating with Potential Buyer.(reports stock price)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2001... Responding to a 19% surge in its stock price Friday, Bank Plus Corp. said Monday that it is in negotiations with a potential buyer. Mark K. Mason, president and chief executive officer of $2.2 billion-asset Bank Plus, refused to name the...

In Brief: Mortgage Financier to Buy a Summit Unit.(Independence Community Bank Corp. to acquire Summit Bank's mortgage banking finance group)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... Independence Community Bank Corp. said Monday that it has an agreement to acquire the assets and staff of the former Summit Bank's mortgage banking finance group for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is expected to close this month, would...

Bankers May Have Missed EBPP Boat.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... Banks have been "flat-footed" in their attempts to persuade people to adopt electronic bill payment and presentment, and may have thus missed their best chance to cement the loyalty of an affluent class of customer, a top bank technology...

7 Years Later, Merrill In Syndicated's Top 10: Group integrated with high-yield since '99.(Merrill Lynch and Co. ranks among top ten syndicated lenders)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2001... Merrill Lynch & Co.'s efforts to expand its loan syndication operation are paying off. The investment banking firm, which starting building the business about seven years ago, is now ranked among the top 10 syndicated lenders in the United...

Further Easing Sought In Merchant Bank Regs.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... Financial services lobbyists who attacked proposed merchant banking regulations with rhetorical sledgehammers last year will ascend Capitol Hill with screwdrivers on Wednesday to tinker further with the rules. Robert J. Kabel, a lawyer with...

Wamu-Fleet Deal Would Reshape Top Tier.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... Washington Mutual Inc., which has pledged to become the nation's biggest mortgage company, is near a deal that would lift it to second place among U.S. mortage originators and fourth in servicing. If completed, the deal would see Wamu...

TD Waterhouse CEO Vows To Trim Where Others Slash.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... TD Waterhouse Group chief executive officer Stephen D. McDonald said the discount brokerage will continue to cut costs to withstand the ongoing market volatility but does not plan the sort of massive layoffs that its peers in online brokerage...

National City Official: Economic Turnaround To Start in 2d Quarter.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... The economic slowdown should bottom out this quarter, possibly giving some relief to banks bearing the brunt of credit-quality woes, according to Richard J. DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland. But the slowdown, he...

In Focus Shift, Royal of Canada Unloading E-Brokerage Accounts.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... Royal Bank of Canada, which has made a steady string of niche acquisitions in the United States, moved to streamline its operations here with a deal Monday to divest its Bull & Bear Securities Inc. online brokerage subsidiary. Two years...

N.D. Weighs Repeal Of 'Opt-In' Data Law.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... In what the financial services industry hopes is a sign that state-level fervor to enact privacy protections is easing, a bill is advancing through the North Dakota Legislative Assembly that would roll back the state's strict...

Estate Tax, Business Checking, Reserve Interest Votes Near.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2001... The House is expected to approve two bills this week that banking industry officials are tracking closely. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote today on legislation that would let banks pay interest on business checking accounts as soon as 2003,...

BB&T's 'Buy' Call Shows Commitment.(BB and T Corp. advises investors to buy depressed stocks)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Is BB&T Corp.'s asset management division going out on a limb by saying this is a good time for investors to buy depressed stocks? That depends on what the Winston-Salem, N.C., company hopes to get out of the recommendation. BB&T...

Exam Fees Not Linked To Reform, Says FDIC.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rejects bid to raise exam fees for government chartered banks)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has rejected an 11th-hour bid by Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke Jr. and Office of Thrift Supervision Director Ellen Seidman to have deposit insurance reform include resolution of disparities...

In U.S. Trust Ad, Schwab's Conspicuous By Absence.(U.S. Trust Corp., Charles Schwab Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Charles Schwab Corp. has evolved far beyond its discount brokerage roots, but not far enough, apparently, to mess with the cachet of the 148-year-old U.S. Trust name. Whatever synergy may exist between Schwab's flagship brokerage business...

Bill Would Put GSEs Under Fed: Their entry into new businesses would need central bank's OK.(government sponsored enterprises, Federal Reserve Board)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... A bill expected to be introduced in the House Wednesday would put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the supervision of the Federal Reserve Board, requiring the secondary mortgage market giants to get the central bank's approval before entering...

Key to Consolidate Asset Management Under Single Brand.(Key Asset Management)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Key Asset Management, the investment management arm of Cleveland-based KeyCorp, is preparing to merge all of its units under a single brand, beginning next month. Richard J. Buoncore, president and chief executive officer, said the...

D.C.'s Newest Wavemaker.
April 4, 2001... John Reich, the newest member of the FDIC board, has not been shy about criticizing bankers and regulators about subprime lending regulations and deposit insurance reform efforts. Story on page 4 Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial. All...

Sanwa and Tokai Detail California Merger Plans.(Sanwa Bank California and Tokai Bank of California)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Sanwa Bank California and Tokai Bank of California released details Monday of their plans to combine, beginning in July, as a result of the merger of their Japanese parents and a third Japanese bank. The new U.S. institution, to be named...

Gramm Helping Search for New OTS, OCC Heads.(Phil Gramm, Office of Thrift Supervision, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm said Tuesday that he is helping the Bush administration find candidates to succeed Office of Thrift Supervision Director Ellen Seidman and Comptroller of the Currency John D Hawke Jr. "We're...

FDIC's Reich Making Waves On Subprime, Deposit Reform.(John Reich, the newest member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... John Reich, the newest member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board, apparently has not gotten the memo about keeping a low profile. But in an interview last week after two months as a member of a board that prides itself on...

Wash. Bank Makes Collateral Shift a Lateral Move.(City Bank (Lynnwood, Washington) database to shorten lien recording process)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Taking advantage of regulations that will drastically change the way lenders secure collateral, a small Washington State bank has created a database that it says will help it shorten the lien-recording process from several weeks to a few...

The Future Is Wireless, Juniper Chief Says.(Richard W. Vague addresses eCard 2001 conference)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... When he was head of First USA, Richard W. Vague used to tell a story on the lecture circuit about the time one of his managers suggested a partnership with America Online, and he approved it despite his misgivings -- it was the mid-1990s, and...

In Brief: Deutsche Launches Global Sector Funds.(Deutsche Asset Management)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Deutsche Asset Management has launched three global sector funds for U.S. investors. The Global Biotechnology Fund, the Global Financial Services Fund, and the Global Technology Fund, launched Monday, will be managed by its DWS...

In Brief: Mercantile Fund Ditches BlackRock.(Mercantile Bankshares replaces BlackRock Inc. as its international equity mutual fund subadviser)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Mercantile Bankshares has replaced BlackRock Inc.'s international asset management unit as the subadviser of its international equity mutual fund, according to a March 21 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The MSD&T...

In Brief: County in Michigan Automate Records.(Genesee County automates its register of deeds, system to be made available on Internet)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Genesee County is automating management of its register of deeds and vital-records operations. The new system applies imaging and document management technology from Bull Information Systems of France. It contains the deeds, mortgages, and...

In Brief: Fannie Named No. 3 Corporate Citizen.(Fannie Mae receives Business Ethics magazine award)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Fannie Mae took third in an annual ranking of the nation's 100 best "corporate citizens" by Business Ethics magazine. Procter & Gamble was first, Hewlett-Packard second, Motorola fourth, and International Business Machines fifth in...

In Brief: United Guaranty Elects Top Officers.(Charles M. Reid, William V. Nutt Jr.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... United Guaranty Corp.'s board of directors has elected Charles M. Reid chairman and William V. Nutt Jr. president and chief executive officer. Mr. Reid, 67, had been president and CEO since 1987 and twice was president of the Mortgage...

In Brief: Construction Rose 1% in February.(year 2001)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Construction spending rose 1% in February from the month before, to a seasonally adjusted rate of $834.2 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau Spending increased 2% over February 2000. Construction in the...

Black Caucus Launches Homeowner Drive.(Congressional Black Caucus Foundation )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... Politicos and mortgage-industry heavy hitters rolled out a grassroots campaign on Tuesday that they hope will increase African-American homeownership by at least one million by 2005. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation introduced the...

Wells Takes Its High-Tech Act on the Road.(Wells Fago and Co., marketing campaign)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Wells Fargo & Co.'s stagecoach, which used to move money around in lower-tech times, has been reincarnated as a high-tech touring bus promoting Internet banking. A 45-foot-long WellsFargo.com bus is traveling the same routes the stagecoach...

USABancshares Latest to Shift Strategy Away from Internet.(USABancshares.com Inc. )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 4, 2001... The already eroding confidence in Internet banks has worsened with the announcement of a major strategic shift by USABancshares.com Inc. In its 2000 earnings results, released Monday night, the Philadelphia company said it will sharply...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
April 4, 2001... In Monday's issue, "Calif.'s Hawthorne in Timely Shift of Lending Policy" on page 9 overstated the weighting of collateral-dependent loans to cash-strapped millionaires in Hawthorne Savings Bank's loan portfolio in December 1999. The loans made...

In Brief: Citigroup to Cut 'Several Hundred' Jobs.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... Citigroup Inc. on Tuesday joined the list of financial services companies that have announced layoffs as the market continues its march into bear territory. A spokeswoman said that "several hundred employees" would lose their jobs, the...

In Brief: Business Checking Bill Clears the House.(House of Representatives passes banking legislation)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... The House on a voice vote Tuesday passed legislation that would allow banks to pay interest on business checking accounts as soon as 2003. The bill also temporarily would expand sweep accounts from six to 24 times a month in the interim,...

In Brief: ABN Amro Acquires Michigan National.(ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Michigan National Cop.)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2001... The Dutch banking company ABN Amro Bank NV said Tuesday that it has closed its $2.75 billion acquisition of Michigan National Corp ABN Amro announced in November that it would buy Michigan National, a $12 billion-asset commercial bank...