Briefs	E-mail PagePrint Version

US BANK NAMED LEADING AG LENDER

MINNEAPOLIS - U.S. Bank N.A. has been named one of the top agricultural lenders in the country, ranked by total farm loans. The findings, published in Ag Lender Magazine and the American Bankers Association's Journal of Agricultural Lending, are ranked according to information provided on call and income reports to the Federal Reserve System for the quarter that ended December 31, 2002. Ranked second in the nation, U.S. Bank specializes in service and products, including lines of credit, to individuals and businesses, including family farms, in the agricultural industry. In the rankings for 2002, the two publications state that U.S. Bank had more than $2 billion in total agricultural loans. Of that, there are over $1.3 billion in agricultural production, livestock and agribusiness loans and nearly $728 million in farmland loans. U.S. Bancorp, with assets in excess of $182 billion, is the 8th largest financial services holding company in the US and is the parent company of U.S. Bank The company operates 2,200 banking offices and 4,582 ATMs, and provides banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.

OECD TARGETS MONEY LAUNDERING, TERRORISM

WASHINGTON, DC - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has "significantly revised its core recommendations" to create a "comprehensive, consistent and strengthened" international framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The recommendations include more monitoring of high risk bank customers and transactions, extending anti-money laundering measures to non-financial businesses and professions such as casinos, real estate agents, dealers of precious stones and metals, accountants, lawyers, notaries and trust company providers, and improving transparency requirements, according to a spokesman for the group. The FATF's "40 Recommendations" comprise an international anti-money laundering standard, the release noted. The FATF is an OECD-based inter-governmental body that sets standards and develops policies to combat terrorist financing and money laundering. It is comprised of 33 members -- 31 countries, including the US, the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council - and more than 20 observers. The FATF has admitted South Africa and Russia as members and removed St. Vincent and the Grenadines from its list of non-cooperative countries, the spokesman said. The organization also listed Egypt, Guatemala, the Philippines and Ukraine as making progress in their anti-money laundering systems. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), he added,  have added the FATF recommendations to their list of accepted standards.

IMF RELEASES LOAN PACKAGE TO PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD - The International Monetary Fund has released $123 million to Pakistan - the fifth installment of a $1.5 billion three-year loan. Pakistan has shown "strong macroeconomic performance in the context of global economic weakness and the difficult regional security environment," the IMF said in releasing the funds. So far, Pakistan has drawn $738 million from the loan package signed with the IMF in 2001. Pakistan's total debt to foreign creditors is estimated at $36 billion, of which about US$1.8 billion is to the US. News reports have said Pakistan may seek a write-off of its debt to Washington in return for allowing greater operational freedom to US forces in their fight against al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan. The US has already written off about $1 billion of Pakistan's debt after it actively started cooperating with Washington in its war on terror in 2001.

Go back, or read the latest briefs:

TRADE

empty