Applicants for a personal loan from New York's First National City Bank have something of a shock in store: the new standard loan contract is written in language they can easily understand. The simple one-page document—one-third as long as its predecessor—spells out the bank's and borrower's obligations in relaxed you and I terms with nary a hereinafter to get in the way. And Citibank is not alone (see box). Anxious to stimulate business, banks and insurance companies alike are hastening to switch from the old long-winded fine print to the new legal-ease.
Next month First National Bank of Boston is putting the...