OCC 98-22
Subject: Branch Names
Description: Interagency Statement   
Date: May 12, 1998

TO:  Chief Executive Officers and Compliance Officers of all
     National Banks, Department and Division Heads and
     All Examining Personnel



On May 1, 1998, the federal financial institutions regulatory
agencies issued an interagency statement advising the
institutions they regulate to adopt procedures aimed at helping
customers recognize that different facilities of a bank or thrift
  including Internet sites  are not separately insured just
because they operate under different names.  In recent years,
several banks have used names that differ from the bank's
corporate name for branches or the delivery of services over the
Internet.  The agencies are concerned that, if customers believe
they are dealing with two different institutions, they may
inadvertently exceed FDIC insurance limits by depositing more
than $100,000 in differently named facilities of the same
institution.

There are no federal laws or regulations that specifically
require that branches or Internet sites of a bank or thrift
operate under a single name.  The federal agencies issuing the
guidance   the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision
  believe that as a matter of good business practice banks and
thrifts should take steps to avoid confusing customers as to the
scope and extent of FDIC insurance.  The interagency statement,
which will become effective on July 1, 1998, contains guidelines
on procedures that may be adopted to help avoid such confusion.

For more information, call Sue E. Auerbach, senior attorney, Bank
Activities and Structure Division, at (202) 874-5300.




_______________________________
Robert B. Serino
Deputy Chief Counsel

Attachments