Even more troubling, they found that the company had harassed and retaliated against employees who had tried to notify regulators about these problems.

If something about an account makes them suspicious, banks are required to notify regulators right away.

The firm said it had notified regulators of the unauthorized trading.

The company wanted to notify customers, competitors and regulators before it went public.

The bank notified regulators and the United States Attorney's office of the problem in March 1996.

It did not require accountants to notify regulators if they uncover fraud, he said.

They also say they can live with notifying regulators about closing down branches in poor neighborhoods.

Jackie Nowell, the union's health and safety director, notified regulators.

The bank did not notify regulators until September.

Federal rules require banks to notify regulators within 30 days of discovering an act of fraud.