BANKING & FINANCE - Dec. 29, 1994

Fleet Financial to Buy Back Stake in Mortgage Unit: In an about-face, Fleet Financial Group said it wants to buy back for $190 million the 19% of Fleet Mortgage Group it spun off to the public in 1992. Fleet sold the stake two years ago when the mortgage refinancing business was booming and mortgage companies appeared to be an attractive investment. But rising interest rates have squelched demand for refinancings and new home loans and mortgage company stocks have plummeted, making them takeover targets. Fleet Mortgage’s shares have fallen 18% during the past three months. Fleet’s offer of $20 a share in cash, announced after the markets closed, is $3 a share less than what buyers paid in the August, 1992, spinoff.