August 21, 1999

Raids at Bank of New York Investigators seized files of a top officer at the bank's Wall Street offices in an investigation into what may be a major money-laundering operation by Russians. PAGE A4 Essex Prosecutor Resigns Patricia A. Hurt, the embattled county prosecutor who had vowed to fight the New Jersey Governor's decision to strip her of her powers, has resigned. PAGE B1

New York State Attorney General Eliot L Spitzer files sweeping Federal civil rights lawsuit against New York State's biggest home equity lender, Delta Funding Corp, accusing company of enticing thousands of poor minority homeowners in Brooklyn and Queens into loans they could not afford; suit asks Federal judge to place Delta Funding into state receivership, contending company is unlikely to obey court orders that it alter its lending practices; suit is prompted by collapse of tentative settlement with Spitzer; suit comes one day after New York State Banking Department announced its own settlement with Delta Funding (M)

Merger of Japan's three biggest banks to form world's largest financial institution seen as start of far-reaching consolidation of country's bloated and debt-ridden banking system; merger announced by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Industrial Bank of Japan and Fuji Bank Ltd is viewed by economists and investors as significant change, because it will hasten mergers among other Japanese banks, winnowing weakest and helping to rescue what has been one of biggest drags on Japanese economy; three-way alliance, which partners hope to formally establish by fall of 2000, would create giant with $1.3 trillion in assets, dwarfing current world deader, Deutsche Bank, which has $866 billion in assets; chart (M)

New York Jets defeat Philadelphia Eagles, 10-9, in exhibition game; table of performance of Jets' backup quarterbacks; photo (M)

Article describes some treasures contained in R G Dun & Co Collection of 2,580 volume of hand-written credit reports dating from between 1841 and 1891 at Harvard University; Travis B Blackman, who oversees archives for what is now Dun & Bradstreet Corp, say archive represents creation of a national business network; scholars see collection as invaluable tool for piecing together American business history; photos (M)