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Financial Institution Letter

Special Alert


TO: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
SUBJECT: Entities That May Be Conducting Banking Operations
In the United States Without Authorization

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has published an updated list of entities that may be conducting banking business in the United States illegally or without authorization. Any proposed transactions involving any of the listed entities should be viewed with extreme caution.

The attached listing is an updated summary of entities identified in previous Financial Institution Letters on this subject. However, this listing does not contain the names of entities furnished by state or foreign governments. Therefore, you should retain for your records: FIL-17-91, dated April 23, 1991, containing a listing of bank licenses revoked by the Government of Montserrat; FIL-56-91, dated November 19, 1991, containing a listing of companies purporting to be banks, but that are not licensed as such by the government of Grenada; FIL-32-93, dated May 18, 1994, containing a list of entities that are not licensed chartered banks in Belize; FIL-65-94, dated October 7, 1994, containing a list of entities not licensed to conduct banking activities in the State of New York; and FIL-31-95: Financial Institution Letters: dated April 13, 1995, containing names of entities that may be operating in Canada in violation of the Bank Act (Canada) and may be conducting unauthorized banking transactions in the United States.

Please forward any information concerning the entities on the attached list to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, N. W., Room F-612, Washington, D. C. 20429.

Nicholas J. Ketcha Jr.
Acting Director

Attachment

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)


CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING LIST OF ENTITIES THAT MAY BE CONDUCTING BANKING OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION

Allied Bank Corporation Asian Pacific Bank, Ltd.
10 E. 40th Street, 44th Floor 8021 Knue Road
New York, NY Suite 120
Indianapolis, IN
(The) Alpha Ltd. Trust Company
Ameritrust (1) Baltimore International Bank
Franklin Trust Company (2) Baltimore, MD
Yosemite National Trust
Various Addresses used by Banco di Roma International,
above include: Inc.
P. O. Box 1228 110 Lyndale Avenue
Groveland, CA Helena, MT
13075 Gamble Street and
Groveland, CA 1005 West Fourth Street
17275 Corcoran Gray Road Carson City, NV
Groveland, CA
307 Luinda Way Banco Europe, S. A.
Modesto, CA 2010 Corporate Ridge
McLean, VA
American Federal Banking
Association Bank of England (4)
67 Wall Street, 24th Floor 1413 K Street, N. W.
New York, NY Washington, D. C.
American Landbank, Inc. Banka Bohemia, A. S. (5)
74804 Joni Drive, #128 Prague
Palm Desert, CA Czech Republic
and
19006 Consul Avenue, Barclay's Bank PLC (6)
Corona, CA P. O. Box 1089
and Miami, FL
841 E. Washington
Santa Anna, CA Bear International Bank
and Santa Ysabel, CA
4199 Campus Drive, #950
Irvine, CA (The) Birla Investment Bank
and Holding Company
Ameritech Express (3) 193-B Kingston Road
Vickers Enterprise Parsippany, NJ
Ameritrust (1) Brent Equities Trust Bank
(See Alpha Ltd. Trust Company) 410 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Hallandale, FL
Apache Tribe International
Bank, Inc. Caribank
350 Newton #9 990 North Federal Highway
Oakland, CA Pompano Beach, FL
Caribbean International Bank
Ltd.
(Cayman Islands)
655 Fourth Avenue, Suite 42
San Diego, CA

Caribbean Unified Bank (Nauru) (The) First Bank of
4770 Biscayne Blvd., #11100 Internet (7)
Miami, FL P. O. Box 408652
and Chicago, IL
450 N. W. 79th Street
Miami, FL Franklin Trust Company (2)
(See Alpha Ltd. Trust Company)
Century Security Bank
and Trust, Ltd. General Merchant Bank
Two Crocker Blvd., Suite 303 2049 Century Park East, #1200
Mount Clemens, MI Los Angeles, CA
Chartered Bank of London, Ltd. Georgian Imex
(Grenada) International Bank
902 N. Market Street 1314 Burch Drive
Wilmington, DE Evansville, IN
Commerce Bank of Antigua Gulfstream Bank and Trust,
18542 N. W. 67th Avenue Ltd.
Miami, FL 4545 South Lake Drive
Boynton Beach, FL
Diskont Handel
Bank Agency, Ltd. Interstate Trust Credit
6240 N. W. 173rd Street 19748 Vista Hermosa Drive
Miami, FL Walnut, CA
Financial Services One Bancorp Investors International
53 Wall Street Bank, Ltd.
New York, NY Empire State Building
New York, NY
First American Insurance
and Banking Corporation J. P. Morgan Company,
350 Fifth Avenue Merchant Bankers (8)
New York, NY 209 S. Fifth Street,
and Third Floor
67 Wall Street Louisville, KY
New York, New York
Liberty Bank of the Republic
First American International of Georgia
Bank, Inc. 650 Fifth Avenue, #1530
P. O. Box 470 New York, NY
Pawnee, Oklahoma and
One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
First Bank Capitol New York, NY
Partners, Inc.
2 Bourbon Street Lombard Bank, Ltd. (Vanuatu)
Peabody, MA 1221 Brickell Avenue
Miami, Florida
Mesa Grande Bank
7801 Mission Center Court,
Suite 200
San Diego, CA
Mesa Grande International Bank
Mesa Grande Star Route
Santa Ysabel, CA

Miami International Bank Savings and Credit
Miami, Oklahoma Bank of Kuwait
1901 Avenue of the Stars,
Mount Calvary Fund (9) Suite 1774
P. O. Box 9580 Los Angeles, CA
Warwick, RI
Swiss Trade & Commerce
Multibanc, Ltd. Trust, Ltd. (12)
2340 Trinity Mills Road Belize City, Belize
Carrollton, TX
Transcredit Security Bank
Nationsinvest of Texas, N. A. Limited (TSB)
BP6500 Nassau, Bahamas
Houston, TX
VCC International
Native American Bank of Banking Group
California 1775 E. Lincoln Avenue, #105
4969 East Clinton Ave., Anaheim, CA
Suite 111
Fresno, CA Wellington Bank of Commerce
(Nauru)
Native Indian Bank 1800 South Harvard Street
1303 W. Petree Road Los Angeles, CA
Anadarko, OK
Western State Bank (13)
Nevada First Bancorp 2300 Foothill Blvd.
1800 East Sahara, Suite #104 La Verne, CA
Las Vegas, NV and
10880 Wilshire Blvd.
O. M. B. W. D. McCall (9) Los Angeles, CA
P. O. Box 954 and
Waxahachie, TX 6306 Wilshire Blvd., #107
and Los Angeles, CA
Victoria, TX
White Buffalo Indian Bank
Old Etonian Bank Limited (10) 341 Broadway
John Williams Building San Diego, CA
Apia, Western Samoa
World Merchant Bancorp
Pacific Investment and Finance 880 Third Avenue
Banking Corporation (11) New York, NY
Pacific Investment and Finance
Corporation (11) Yosemite National Trust
John Williams Building (See Alpha Ltd. Trust Company)
Falealili Street
Apia, Western Samoa
Paragon Bank and Trust, Inc.
(Nauru)
c/o Newport Credit Corp.
311 Granello Avenue
Coral Gables, FL
Rusab Bank International
Association
P. O. Box 423265
San Francisco, CA

(1) Not associated with Ameritrust Texas, N. A., Two Embarcadero
Center, Suite 1800, San Francisco, California, a licensed
entity in the State of California.

(2) Not associated with Franklin Trust Company, 1800 Gateway Drive,
San Mateo, California, a licensed entity in the State of California.

(3) Subject entity has issued instruments titled AMERITECH EXPRESS
INSURANCE [sic] TRAVELERS CASH NEGOTIABLE AT CURRENT RATE OF
THE CHASE MANHATTEN [sic] BANK OF NEW YORK FOR DOLLARS,
POUNDS, PESOS, YEN. To date, banks which have accepted such
instruments have been unable to effect collection. Entity is
not associated in any manner with The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.
A., multi-national bank headquartered in New York.

(4) Not associated with the Bank of England, Threadneedle Street,
London, England.

(5) Has issued "prime bank" guarantees. The Central Bank of the
Czech Republic has disavowed and voided such transactions.

(6) Barclays Bank PLC, a multi-national banking organization
headquartered in London, U. K., reports that it does not have
a banking office at the address indicated.

(7) Not associated with First Bank System, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(8) Not associated with J. P. Morgan and Company, Inc., New York. (9) Issues apparently worthless "certified money orders." No
collected funds have been reported.

(10) Has issued CD's over $100 million to support transactions in
the U. S. Has not been granted permission to operate in
Western Samoa.

(11) The Government of Western Samoa has indicated these entities
(same ownership) are not licensed banks. Illegal bank
instruments may be in circulation.

(12) The Central Bank of Belize has issued a cease and desist order
prohibiting this entity from conducting a banking business in
Belize. Please be guided accordingly.

(13) Not associated with Western State Bank, Duarte, California.


FIL-44-95

Last Updated: June 29, 1995