Banks' Release of Client Data
                   Is Examined by Task Force

                   By JOSEPH B. CAHILL
                   Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

                   A task force of state attorneys general is investigating whether some of the
                   nation's largest banks violated federal law by providing customer
                   information to telemarketing companies peddling a range of products.

                   In a partnership strategy reminiscent of the multistate attack on the tobacco
                   industry, attorneys general from 20 or more states are scrutinizing the
                   consumer-lending units of industry giants, including Citigroup Inc., Bank
                   One Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and U.S. Bancorp. Regulators are trying
                   to determine if the banks violated federal laws restricting disclosure of
                   confidential customer information or misled customers about bank
                   information-sharing practices. Most of the largest banks provide customer
                   information to telemarketing concerns and share in the profits from sales to
                   the customers.

                   If violations are found, the investigation could lead to a nationwide
                   settlement or coordinated lawsuits against banks in several states. The task
                   force, led by the Vermont attorney general's office, is holding regular
                   teleconferences to plan strategy, review findings and assign responsibility
                   for investigating individual banks. California, New York and Illinois are
                   taking lead roles in the investigation, according to people familiar with the
                   matter. Other states involved include Florida, Connecticut, Michigan and
                   Nevada.

                   The group began its probe in early summer, after the Minnesota attorney
                   general independently sued U.S. Bancorp, alleging the Minneapolis bank
                   violated federal privacy laws and fraudulently stated in customer brochures
                   that it protected confidential customer information, when in fact it shared
                   that data with outside telemarketing companies.

                   U.S. Bancorp denied wrongdoing, but agreed in a settlement to curtail
                   some of its dealings with telemarketers and pay a total of $3 million to the
                   state of Minnesota and various charities.

                   Requests for Information

                   In recent weeks, the group has sent requests for information to large banks
                   and held meetings with some, people familiar with the matter said. Julie
                   Brill, an attorney in the Vermont attorney general's office, confirmed that
                   she heads the task force, but would not identify the other states involved or
                   the banks being investigated.

                   A U.S. Bancorp spokesman confirmed that the bank is "in settlement
                   discussions" with representatives of the task force, but wouldn't discuss
                   details. He said the bank believes its information-share practices comply
                   with applicable law.

                   Wells Fargo, San Francisco, received a letter from the task force last
                   week seeking information on its telemarketing practices, a spokesman said.
                   He said the bank plans to cooperate with the investigators and believes it
                   has violated no laws.

                   'Information-Gathering' Session

                   A Citibank spokeswoman said the New York bank was contacted by the
                   task force in early August, in the form of a letter from the attorneys general
                   of New York, Connecticut and Nevada. She said the bank met with
                   representatives of the New York attorney general "a couple of weeks ago"
                   in what she called an "information-gathering" session. Citibank believes it
                   has "a good record on the privacy issue," she said.

                   A spokesman for Bank One, Chicago, declined to comment on whether
                   the bank has been contacted by investigators.

                   After investigators have collected and reviewed the information on the
                   banks' information-sharing practices, the task force will decide if there are
                   grounds to pursue claims against any of the banks. The analysis will be
                   tricky: The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act bars banks from disclosing
                   certain types of information but allows disclosure of other data.

                   If the task force concludes that any of the banks under investigation broke
                   the law, the first step is likely to be an effort to negotiate a halt to the
                   offending practices. If negotiations fail, coordinated lawsuits would be the
                   next option for the task force. With the probe still in the initial stages,
                   people familiar with the matter say it is too soon to predict the outcome.

                   Banks are likely to fight attempts to significantly limit their sharing of
                   customer data with marketing partners. As growth has slowed and profit
                   margins narrowed in traditional lending businesses, banks have turned to
                   their customer lists as a source of revenue. Most of the largest banks
                   provide customer data to outside telemarketers in return for a cut of the
                   fees from selling everything from discount dental plans to auto insurance.
                   And as banks begin to merge with securities firms and insurance
                   companies, sharing customer data among affiliates has become a more
                   important marketing tool.

                   Growing Privacy Concerns

                   Banks' efforts to milk their customer lists run headlong into growing privacy
                   concerns. Consumer advocates chide banks for breaching the trust of
                   customers who expect financial institutions to guard their privacy.

                   "People have a perception that their bank is like their psychiatrist or their
                   priest. That's the way it used to be, but it's not that way anymore," said
                   Edmund Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a
                   consumer-advocacy organization.

                   The privacy debate found its way into a U.S. House of Representatives bill
                   aimed at removing the remaining regulatory barriers between banking and
                   other financial businesses. A provision of the bill would bar banks from
                   disclosing credit-card account numbers and require banks to allow all
                   customers to opt out of third-party marketing campaigns.