AMEX Gets Federal OK to Act as a Bank

American Express Co., the international banking company best known for its credit card and travel businesses, has obtained permission to operate a federally insured savings bank specializing in trust services. The Office of Thrift Supervision, part of the Treasury Department, announced its approval for American Express to open the bank, to be named American Express Personal Trust Services, or AMEX Bank. It will be based in Minneapolis and will initially market its trust services to American Express cardholders. Trust services include acting as an investment advisor or custodian of trust funds or property held in trust, executing wills and acting as guardian of an estate or trustee of an IRA account. New York-based American Express owns or manages $289.5 billion in assets and has about 37 million cardholders worldwide. The federal approval makes American Express the latest in a string of securities firms, insurance companies and other financial services businesses to get new federal savings and loan charters in recent months.