NATIONAL BANKING POSSIBLE BY 1991, HELLER SAYS
Federal Reserve Governor Robert Heller
said that there should be something approaching full nationwide
banking in the U.S. by 1990 or 1991.
    While much of the basic reform in anachronistic interstate
banking laws may come on the state level, he told a financial
analysts' meeting here that he also hoped for some concrete
action on a federal level to address geographic and other
issues.
    "A crisis will bring it about very quickly...but that is
not the way I would like to see it happen," he said, adding,
"there needs to be continued pressure on Congress (to act)."
    Heller said that it is very difficult to visualize the
final version of plans to reform the U.S. financial services
industry, which are currently being discussed on Capitol Hill.
"In the conference committee, anything can happen," he said.
    He said that he hoped that his personal vision of banking
reform, which he outlined earlier in a formal speech, would
serve as a blueprint for Congressional debate.
    In his speech, Heller called for a broad restructuing of
the domestic financial services industry, which would allow
commercial banks to diversify along wider geographic and
product lines.
 Reuter
