The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has advised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that the following entities may be conducting banking business illegally or without authorization:

Gulf International Bank, Bahrain and Dubai, and
Gulf Aviation International, Ltd., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gulf International Bank, B.S.C., Bahrain, has informed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that the entities listed above are falsely representing that they are affiliated with the Gulf International Bank, its federal branch in New York City, or Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited, London, England. In addition, Gulf International Bank has advised that references appearing on Internet Web sites claiming that Gulf International Bank or its affiliates are involved in certain aircraft financing transactions are false. Proposed transactions should be viewed with extreme caution. Any information or questions may be brought to the attention of:

Mr. Issa N. Baconi
Executive Vice President, Branch Manager
Gulf International Bank
330 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Telephone: (212) 922-2310
Fax: (212) 922-2312

Information about this entity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

NOTE: Paper copies of FDIC Special Alerts may be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, DC 20434 (1-877-275-3342 or (703) 562-2200).