American Banker articles from May 2001

American Banker archives from May 2001

At Visa, Hints of Cutback on Net Spending.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In a departure from his usual Web-happy message, Carl Pascarella, president and chief executive officer of Visa U.S.A., has taken a new tone when talking about the Internet, last week telling a credit card conference that the "mad-dash days are...

Economists: Simplify, Index Coverage.(deposit insurance)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Two prominent economists, both former government officials, are recommending that Congress significantly raise deposit insurance coverage, index it to the median income level, and "simplify" existing rules so that consumers cannot manipulate...

First Union Still Selling Merger Deal To Wall St.(with Wachovia)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... First Union Corp., stepping up efforts to sell investors on its plan to pay $13.4 billion for Wachovia Corp., sent its own finance chief to a California financial services conference Monday after a series of private meetings with Wall Street...

Summit Insurance Unit Finds a Home at Fleet.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... For months Thomas Sharkey heard the rumors -- that FleetBoston Financial Corp. would get rid of his insurance agency once it bought the parent company, Summit Bancorp. But "nothing could be further from the truth," said Mr. Sharkey, the...

Top-Level Shakeup at J.P. Morgan H&Q.(J.P. Morgan Hambrecht and Quist)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... J.P. Morgan H&Q has shuffled its senior executive ranks because of an illness that has forced chairman and chief executive officer Daniel H. Case 3d to relinquish most of his responsibilities. The San Francisco-based investment banking unit...

Commercial Federal Says Face-Lift Is Nearly Complete.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Commercial Federal Corp., which a year ago came under fire from investors pressuring for sale, is near the end of a restructuring and says it is ready to face the world again. The Omaha thrift company is close to selling 37 unprofitable...

8 Home Loan Banks Criticize Capital Rule.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Federal Housing Finance Board's rule changing the capital structure of the Federal Home Loan banks has been criticized by eight of the 12 district banks, which argued that parts of it are unfair and would put them at a competitive...

In Brief: Grassley to Try to Hike IRA and 401(k) Ceilings.(individual retirement accounts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Monday that he hopes to move legislation this spring to encourage Americans to save more for retirement, but he cautioned that it will be an uphill battle. "There's a possibility...

In Brief: ABA Chief: Wait-and-See Stance on Privacy.(American Banking Association executive VP Donald G. Ogilvie)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... While regulators enforce the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's privacy provisions, financial services lobbyists are focusing on tempering state-level efforts to enact stricter legislation, according to American Bankers Association executive vice...

OCC, Fed Offer Advice On ID Theft.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Dederal Reserve Board, identification theft)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Regulators are advising bankers to tighten their defenses against identity theft and other privacy invasions. In letters sent Monday to bankers, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board issued customer...

Comment: Your Ads Can Have Substance Without Dangerous Specifics.(bank industry marketing)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2001... Lots of readers disagreed with my suggestion in last week's column that the public would appreciate bank ads that include specifics like check clearing speed, service fees, mortgage points, and credit card charges. One response -- e-mailed...

In Brief: St. Louis' Pulaski Ends Bid for Ind. Bank.(Pulaski Financial Corp., First Bancorp of Indiana Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Pulaski Financial Corp. said Monday that is selling its interest in First Bancorp of Indiana Inc. back to the Evansville, Ind., company and giving up its plans to buy it. Pulaski, which has assets of $294 million, owns 98,100 shares of...

In Brief: FVNB to Go Private in $14M Stock Buyback.(FVNB Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... After nearly seven years as a publicly traded company, FVNB Corp. has decided it will return to private ownership. The $750 million-asset parent of First Victoria National Bank said last week that it plans to pay $45 a share for about...

In Brief: First Farmers Closes Peoples Deal in Tenn.(First Farmers and Merchants National Bank purchases Peoples and Union First Bank in Tennessee)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... First Farmers and Merchants National Bank has bought Peoples and Union First Bank in Lewisburg, Tenn., for an undisclosed sum. Peoples and Union, with $165 million of assets, was a subsidiary of $19.3 billion-asset First Tennessee National...

Flooding a Way of Life For Banks on Banks Of the Mississippi.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... When a bank sits a block from the Mississippi River, a flood can mean closing up shop -- unless it has a lot of sandbags and contingency plans. Buffalo Savings Bank in Buffalo, Iowa, has both and has tried to run business as usual in the...

Federated Pushing Funds to Insurers' Brokers.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Federated Investors Inc., which bucked the first-quarter earnings slump among asset managers, is trying to sell more mutual funds through one of its main annuity channels -- insurer-owned broker-dealers. National sales director Thomas E....

Wachovia Taps Chief For Ga. Asset Unit.(Wachovia Corp. appoints Isaiah Tidwell to Georgia division)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Wachovia Corp. has named Isaiah Tidwell president of the Georgia division of its asset and wealth management unit. Mr. Tidwell previously was president of Georgia banking for Wachovia Bank. He is to be responsible for delivery of...

Mortgage Insurers' Streak Continued in 1Q.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Despite concerns that credit quality erosion brought on by a slowing economy could hurt profits, the four publicly traded mortgage insurance companies had strong first quarters, their earnings rising an average of 28%. Radian Group Inc. of...

SwiftPay for Verizon Wireless Customers.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Western Union Financial Services Inc., a subsidiary of First Data Corp., has signed a multiyear contract to let customers of Verizon Wireless' prepaid wireless telephone service reload cash value on their accounts through Western Union's...

Siebert Women's Web Site Steers Clear of Frivolous.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Money is serious business to Muriel Siebert, who has been chief executive of her own brokerage firm since 1967, and now she is trying to get other women to feel the same way about it. Last month she opened Women's Financial Network at...

Fidelity Pouncing, Others Still Waiting on Wireless.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Wireless is not an option, it is an essential, a Fidelity Investments executive says. "If you want to be in financial services, you need to have some kind of wireless offering," Joseph Ferra, a senior vice president at the brokerage...

Thrift, Mortgage Sectors Seen Sapped by Popularity.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... The thrift sector may be a victim of its own popularity with financial sector investors. On Monday, Charlotte Chamberlain, an equity analyst at the Los Angeles brokerage company Jefferies & Co., downgraded the entire sector, reflecting her...

In Brief: Conseco's Ex-Leaders to Repay Loans.(Conseco Inc.; Stephen C. Hilbert, Rollin Dick)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Conseco Inc. announced on Monday that it has finalized agreements with Stephen C. Hilbert, its founder and former chairman and chief executive officer, and Rollin Dick, its former chief financial officer, for repayment of loans they received...

In Brief: Carlyle Groups Hires Former SEC Head.(Arthur Levitt, Jr.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt has joined Carlyle Group as a senior adviser for private equity investing, the international investment firm announced Monday. A former chairman of the American Stock...

In Brief: ABN Amro Buys ING Barings Businesses.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Dutch banking giant ABN Amro said Monday that it has acquired several North American businesses from ING Group, also of the Netherlands. ABN Amro bought ING Barings' prime brokerage, corporate finance, domestic equities, and futures...

In Brief: First Farmers Acquires Tennessee Bank.(First Farmers and Merchants National Bank)(Peoples and Union First Bank)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... First Farmers and Merchants National Bank has bought Peoples and Union First Bank in Lewisburg from $19.3 billion-asset First Tennessee National Corp. in Memphis. for an undisclosed sum. Peoples and Union has $165 million of assets. The...

Electronic Commerce: Deals Show Citi Still Bullish on P2P Payments.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Some banks that have introduced person-to-person Internet payment services say these ventures have so far looked more like science experiments than product lines: Consumer appetite has been meager, fraudsters have found ways to exploit them,...

Sterling Makes Big Play For D-I-P Financing Niche.
May 2, 2001... If Louis J. Cappelli is at all concerned about the slowing economy and its effect on his company, Sterling Bancorp, he is not showing it. In fact, sitting at a green marble table in his plush, Park Avenue office, the 70-year-old chairman...

M&I Rejoins M&A Fray With $250M Minn.Buy.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... After sitting out the merger game for three years while fellow Wisconsin banks got bigger and bigger, Marshall & Ilsley Corp. appears to be back in the fight. Late Monday the $26 billion-asset Milwaukee banking company unveiled a $250...

Vying for Annuity Share, Insurers Sell Partnership.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... As banks cut back on annuity providers and the products become more commoditized, insurers are grasping for ways to position themselves as partners, not just vendors. By now, many have dedicated wholesalers to the bank channel and some...

Home Loan Chiefs in the Money: Gramm-Leach-Bliley freed boards to give their presidents big raises.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... A little-noticed by-product of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act has been a dramatic improvement in the personal bottom lines of the Federal Home Loan banks' presidents. Gramm-Leach-Bliley freed boards to give their presidents big raises The...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... MIDDLE ATLANTIC Salomon Smith Barney has announced that Eric Medow has rejoined the firm as a managing director focusing on telecommunications in the mergers and acquisitions group. He is based in New York and reports to Tom King,...

Hibernia CEO: I'll Listen to Offers.(J. Herbert Boydstun)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Hibernia Corp. chief executive J. Herbert Boydstun appeared to be shopping the company Monday. Mr. Boydstun, who took the helm at Hibernia in December after the unexpected resignation of Stephen A. Hansel, said at a Morgan Stanley Dean...

ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank Cutting 480 Jobs in U.S. Units.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Two foreign banking companies with a presence in the United States confirmed layoffs on this side of the Atlantic Tuesday. Dutch banking giant ABN Amro Holding NV said it is laying off 300 people in its U.S. corporate and investment banking...

Cap Hike Yes, 'Simplification' No.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Industry officials said Tuesday that a new study from two prominent economists could help them in their battle for increased deposit insurance coverage. But they emphasized that they did not agree with all of the report's recommendations,...

To Pitch Social Security Plan, Bush Not Turning to Bankers.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Though financial services executives probably would manage more of Americans' retirement savings if President Bush's plan to privatize part of the Social Security system becomes law, few are expected to be appointed to the White House...

In Brief: Armey Says He Lobbied for Friend Jorde.(Richard K. Armey, House Majority Leader;)(Terry J. Jorde)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey said Tuesday that he has lobbied President Bush to nominate community banker Terry J. Jorde to the Federal Reserve Board. Ms. Jorde, the president and chief executive officer of $34.6 million-asset...

In Brief: Senators Blast Cuts in SBA Loan Program.(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Lawmakers at a Senate panel hearing Tuesday blasted the White House's proposed cuts in the Small Business Administration budget. Under the plan President Bush submitted to Congress March 1, the agency's budget would be cut by $114.5...

In Brief: GOP Trims Tax-Cut Goal to $1.25 Trillion.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... To garner support from moderate lawmakers, House and Senate Republican leaders on Tuesday reduced their tax-cut goal from $1.6 trillion, as President Bush has urged, to $1.25 trillion over 10 years. The smaller package, which like the...

Allegiant to Be No. 5 in Mo. with Southside Deal.(Allegiant Bancorp; Southside Bancshares)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 2, 2001... Speculation about the takeover of Southside Bancshares ended Tuesday with rival Allegiant Bancorp's announcing an agreement to buy its St. Louis neighbor for $120 million in cash and stock. The deal, Allegiant's second in-market acquisition...

Vital Processing to Market Decision Software.(Vital Processing Services)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Vital Processing Services, the merchant processing company owned by Visa U.S.A. and TSYS, has signed an agreement to purchase HNC Software's Capstone Online credit decision service and says it will market the software to Vital merchant-acquirer...

'Fast Follower' NextCard Says It's on the Path to Profitability.(speech by John V. Hashman to Credit Card Forum 2001)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... NextCard Inc. has built its reputation as an Internet innovator, an upstart company that brought into the mainstream such features as instant application decisions, online account management and "concierge" services, and comprehensive rewards...

Goldman Moves to Catch Fund of Hedge Funds Wave.(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced its first "fund of hedge funds" Tuesday, offering further evidence that this type of product is gaining popularity with banks and investment managers seeking to offer investors alternatives to equities and...

Mixed Housing Sentiment Reflects an Iffy Economy.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Though the wildly expensive housing market in New York City may not always be a national bellwether, real estate agents say they are seeing some signs of weakness there -- predominantly on the most costly properties -- that could serve as more...

Buffett's 'Iceberg' Theory on GSE Dump Said Full of Holes.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Investors and observers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say they are bewildered by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's explanation for selling his shares in the companies -- and that the fears he has voiced are unfounded. Berkshire...

In Brief: Wireless PDA Access for Fleet Customers.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... FleetBoston Financial announced Monday that its online banking customers can use their Palm-compatible personal digital assistants to access their banking, credit card, and brokerage accounts and do transactions, including bill payments. ...

In Brief: Alltel Buys Xpede Online Technology.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Alltel Information Services Inc. said Tuesday that it had acquired financial relationship management technology and 30 employees involved with it from Xpede of Oakland, Calif. The price was not disclosed. Xpede lets banks promote its...

In Brief: Bank of N.Y. in Investment Portal Venture.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Bank of New York Co. has teamed up with Advent Software, Compaq, Microsoft, and Accenture to form Encompys Inc., a company that will develop an Internet-based straight-through processing system for the global asset management community. ...

In Brief: IBM Buying Mainspring Consulting Firm.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... International Business Machines Corp. said it has agreed to buy Mainspring, a digital business consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass., in a deal valued at about $80 million. IBM is to pay $4 per share for all outstanding Mainspring common...

In Brief: Aggregation Software for Vanguard.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Vanguard Group announced has licensed software from CashEdge Inc. to provide account aggregation to its mutual fund shareholders. The service will give shareholders access to information about their Vanguard and other accounts at...

Electronic Commerce: Metavante Buying Derivion for an EBPP Lift.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Metavante Corp. raised its profile in electronic bill payment and presentment by unveiling a deal to buy Derivion Corp., a provider of electronic billing software to corporations. The deal, announced Tuesday, is expected to close this month...

2Q Looks Bleak for Most Investment Banking Firms.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Credit Suisse First Boston banking analyst Joan S. Solotar cut second-quarter earnings estimates for Goldman Sachs Group on Tuesday, noting that the quarter, which ends May 31 for Goldman, could be a low point for the New York investment bank....

In Brief: Senate Panel Approves 4 for Treasury Jobs.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved four of President Bush's nominees to the Treasury Department. They were Kenneth W. Dam for deputy secretary, John B. Taylor as under secretary for international affairs, David D....

In Brief: E-Trade Says No Sweeping Layoffs Planned.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... E-Trade Group says it is not planning across-the-board layoffs, despite declines in online trading by retail investors that have forced some of the discount broker's competitors to reduce their work forces. In an interview after a...

In Brief: Chemical of Michigan Buying Bank West.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Chemical Financial Corp. is keeping up its buying spree with the acquisition of Bank West Financial Corp. in Grand Rapids, Mich. The $3.1 billion-asset company said Tuesday that it had signed a letter of intent to purchase 114-year-old Bank...

In Brief: New Name for Key Asset Unit: Victory.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Key Asset Management, a KeyCorp subsidiary, has renamed itself after one of its most successful products, the Victory portfolios. Victory Capital Management, as it is now called, replaces former names for its services, including Gradison...

In Brief: City Holding Sells ISP to Executives.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... After nearly a year of searching for a buyer, $2.7 billion-asset banking company City Holding Co. has finally unloaded its Internet service provider subsidiary, CityNet. The Internet company's chief executive officer, Jim Martin, and other...

The CRM Conundrum.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... American Banker is pleased to present its first special report devoted to customer relationship management. CRM means different things to different financial institutions. Is CRM primarily a cross-selling strategy or a total business philosophy...

CRM.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... 4A For Internet-only banks, addressing CRM is a particularly daunting task because they have fewer channels from which to extract customer information. 6A Measuring the return on customer relationship management investments is a...

Do Online Banks Need CRM?(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Brick-and-mortar financial institutions have been grappling with the nebulous issue of customer relationship management in recent years, but for Internet-only banks, addressing what's known in the industry as CRM is a particularly daunting...

Return on CRM Spending Is Hard to Measure.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Measuring the return on customer relationship management investments is a tricky business. Most CRM initiatives are huge undertakings that require banks to spend vast amounts of time and money, say industry analysts and consultants. ...

Banks Target CRM at Corporate Clients.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Banks are beginning to apply the customer relationship management lessons they have learned on the retail side to their corporate clients. Over the last few years, banks have spent billions of dollars on customer databases for their retail...

Report: Most CRM Is 'Leap of Faith'.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... s For many financial services companies, customer relationship management projects represent a "leap of faith" with unclear business objectives, a recent Meridien Research Inc. report contends. Though CRM has been "the largest single...

Brokerages Turn to CRM To Attract, Keep Customers.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2001... Most brokerage firms coasted through the past decade on sheer transaction volume. But in the wake of recent stock market gyrations, many are finding that it's time to take a more targeted approach to finding and keeping the customers they want....

PNC: Align Everything Around the Customer.
May 2, 2001... PNC Bank's Joseph C. Guyaux learned the importance of good customer service while driving a grocery store delivery truck for six years in Tarentum, Pa., during the 1970s. He remembers how customers would leave their doors open, with the...

JPM Devises a Bond To Shed Private Equity.(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has been trying to shed some of its holdings in venture capital and buyout funds in recent months through its private equity arm, J.P. Morgan Partners. But after using the secondary market for a $1 billion sale last...

Cohee Hopes Some 'Magic' Helps Build National Bank.(Boston Bank of Commerce's Kevin Cohee)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... With basketball legend and bank investor Earvin "Magic" Johnson at his side, Boston Bank of Commerce chief executive officer Kevin Cohee moved a step closer this week to realizing his dream of creating a nationwide black-owned banking...

Fleet Says Focus Now On Service, Not Deals.(FleetBoston Financial Corp)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... FleetBoston Financial Corp., which has struggled for a year with customer service and employee morale issues, claims to be putting acquisitions on the sidelines to focus on improving its image. The change comes amid an economic slowdown...

Can a $10,000 CD Revive Small Mortgage Bank Niche?(Startbank business kit)
May 3, 2001... Richard Easton's $10,000 how-to-start-a-mortgage-bank CD-ROM may be the best evidence yet of how commoditized a field with notoriously low entry barriers it has become. In a refinance boom, mortgage start-ups pop up like umbrella hawkers...

Lazio Hire: Mix of Policy And Profile.(Financial Services Forum )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... In a bid to put itself on the map, the Financial Services Forum on Wednesday named former New York lawmaker Rick Lazio as its president and chief executive officer. "We are going to be raising the profile of this group, but the central...

TODAY'S NEWS.(brief industry news)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... U.S. Bancorp plans to adopt Firstar's business model to protect the health of its consumer banking unit. Page 3 WASHINGTON Letting banking companies sell real estate would be a dangerous breach of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, House lawmakers...

In Brief: Morgan Stanley to Trim More Costs.(Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co.)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. will continue to trim expenses, its president and chief operating officer said Wednesday. "We are zealously focused on minimizing our noncompensation expenses," Robert G. Scott told attendees at a Morgan...

In Brief: Merrill Hires 3 for Private Banking.(Merrill Lynch and Co)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... Merrill Lynch & Co. said Wednesday that it had hired three former J.P. Morgan & Co. private banking executives to its London wealth management unit. Kathleen McKay, Johnny Moss, and Irene Manis have joined the London offices of Merrill's...

In Brief: BB&T Building Operations Ctr. in Va.(Virginia, Maryland )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... BB&T Corp. announced plans to build a 50,000 square-foot operations center in Winchester, Va., to process transactions for the bank's Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., markets. The Winston-Salem, N.C., company said the Winchester...

U.S. Bancorp Relies On Firstar Strategy For Consumer Side.(U.S. Bancorp, Firstar Corp)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... U.S. Bancorp, which completed its merger with Firstar Corp. in late February, is working to make sure the consumer banking unit continues to thrive in the first months ahead. Richard Davis, chief financial officer at the Minneapolis-based...

House Panelists Call Real Estate Plan Trouble.
May 3, 2001... Lawmakers on Wednesday blasted a proposal by federal regulators that would allow financial holding companies to engage in real estate brokerage and management, saying it would violate the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act by mixing banking and commerce....

In Brief: Panel to Pitch Bush Social Security Plan.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... Flanked by a former banker and a former Senator, President Bush formally unveiled a 16-member commission Wednesday that will push his plan to let Americans privately invest a portion of their Social Security taxes. "Today young workers who...

In Brief: House Passes Bill To Raise IRA Limit.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... The House passed a bill that would increase retirement savings options by a vote of 407 to 24 on Wednesday. The bill, sponsored Reps. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., would gradually increase the limit on annual IRA contributions...

Executive Changes.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... MIDWEST Citizens Savings Bank in Bloomington, Ill., has elected Lowell M. Thompson as chairman. He was also elected chairman of its holding company, Citizens First Financial Corp. He succeeded Ronald C. Wells, who resigned but...

City of Denver Backs Down In Subprime Lending Fight.(Industry Trend or Event)
May 3, 2001... Denver, responding to bankers' complaints that it had gone too far in fighting predatory lending, now says it will not rule out doing business with banks that make subprime loans. In March the city issued a request for proposal to banks...

Morgan Chase Rebranding Europe Fund Biz.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... In a brand consolidation meant to improve its third-party distribution, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is putting its European fund business under JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management Ltd., a U.K. unit to be established May 13. And in the process it...

Small-Sponsor 401(k) Plan From Scudder.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... Scudder Retirement Services, a division of Zurich Scudder Investments, Inc., has launched Scudder Premium Plan, a fully bundled, comprehensive defined-contribution retirement plans for the small-plan market. Scudder Premium, for 401(k),...

Online Auto Insurer Targets Credit Unions.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... A small online insurance company says it will spend the year helping credit unions catch up to banks in offering auto insurance online. Esurance Inc. of San Francisco, which last year became E-Loan Inc.'s exclusive provider of auto...

In Brief: Dreyfus to Offer Pa. College Savings Plan.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2001... Dreyfus Corp., the mutual fund arm of Mellon Financial Corp. in Pittsburgh, has been chosen to administer a tax-deferred college savings program for Pennsylvania. This will be the first Section 529 college savings program offered by...