Independence Bank Not Affected by BCCI Seizure

World banking regulators’ seizure of BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg) SA has had no effect on the operations of Independence Bank in Encino, which operated as usual Monday, Independence Chairman Fulvio V. Dobrich said.

“Everything is normal,” Dobrich said.

In May, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board alleged that BCCI secretly had a controlling interest in Independence and ordered that BCCI sell that stake, despite Independence’s claim that it is owned by Saudi financier Ghaith R. Pharaon. Pharaon also has ties to BCCI, which stands for Bank of Credit & Commerce International.

On Friday, regulators in the United States, Britain and elsewhere seized the banking operations of BCCI amid allegations by the Bank of England that BCCI was engaged in massive fraud. BCCI also has been beset by several other scandals; it pleaded guilty in the United States in January, 1990, to charges of laundering drug money.

However, the Fed announced Friday that Independence Bank and some other U.S. banks with ties to BCCI were not affected by the seizures. It noted that Independence is a separately capitalized, U.S. chartered and federally insured institution that previously has been barred from having transactions with BCCI banks.

Independence, with assets of $659 million as of March 31, is the largest bank by assets headquartered in the San Fernando Valley.