Prosecutors charged that he had supplied about $800,000 to finance an illegal lending operation run by his brother.

Because Shawmut's most serious problems were the result of bad loans, its lending operation quickly got extra attention.

These sources account for almost three quarters of its lending operations.

The decline also reflects the lower profitability of trade financing by banks, as opposed to domestic lending operations.

The big East Coast banks already have lending operations in California.

Nevertheless, after several difficult lending operations, Creditanstalt became an acqusition candidate.

It has expanded its lending operations to banks.

Repayment terms were 4 percent for rural housing and 8.5 percent for normal lending operations.

Balcor's troubled loans notwithstanding, the lending operation has generated millions of dollars in interest income.

"The brains to keep books for a lending operation?"