Rather than sell a thrift whole, and give the purchaser responsibility for managing the assets, the R.T.C. too often sold only the lucrative corporate shell.

The corporate shell, Pan-Tel, was the stalking horse for the world's largest computer installation.

Most are corporate shells with huge debts and few assets, with subsidiary banks liquidated or under regulatory control.

Andrews Group, Inc. is formed from the corporate shell of the former Compact Video.

Under the ownership of one of his myriad corporate shells he maintained a private jet and full-time crew at La Guardia.

"You need advice on whether to buy the assets or just the corporate shell," he said.

Anderson and Parker never sold the corporate shell, Associated Brass Products, Inc.

That process, called securitization, begins with the creation of a corporate shell called a trust.

A group of financiers who wanted to acquire the steel maker said they did not want the pension plan and would leave it in an empty corporate shell.

The company was left with little more than a corporate shell and a bunch of lawsuits.