U.S. Cautions Bank on Fees Intended to Steer Retiree Accounts.

Reports that the U.S. Labor Department has issued an advisory opinion that banks, brokerage firms and investment firms cannot accept payments from mutual fund companies in exchange for steering retirement account customers into those funds. How the opinion may help eliminate some of the troubling conflicts of interest that exist in many individuals retirement accounts; Excerpts from a letter from the Labor Department to Country Trust Bank, an Illinois savings institution; Views of legal experts; Likelihood that the opinion will be scrutinized by those responsible for pension plans; Labor Department investigation of fiduciaries, in order to determine whether plan participants have lost money as a result of conflicts of interest.