European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday november 9, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 Bank failure rate still climbing Washington a the number or Bank failures has hit a Post depression record of 122, with problems in Energy and farm steles expected la Send thai Lota far higher before the a car is out the Federal Deposit insurance corp Friday announced it had closed iwo Banks one an agricultural Bank in Minnesota and the other a Bank in the Loui Siana Oil Patch. The latest closings topped the pre Vious Post depression record of 120 rail urn it last year with Odic official warning that at the current rate the number of Bank failures will surpass i 50in the next two months. They also have said they Don t expect the failure rate to subside much in 1987. Bank failures have been escalating throughout this decade in the Wake of interest rate deregulation. In 1981, 10 Banks failed a typical number for the period since world War ii. Bui by 1984.closings hit 79, the highest local since 1937, when 77 Banks a failed. The highest number of failures occurred in 1933 when More than 4,000 Banks were closed. In that year the Odic was created to insure deposits. The current level of insurance is si00,000 per account which coven de posits in 15,000 member Banks. Despite the High level of closures this year officials have said the banking sys tem is essentially sound. They note the institutions that have failed represent a tiny fraction of local Bank assets about 0.2 percent of the 12,77 trillion in assets controlled by All commercial Banks. The Odic fund has continued to grow despite the failures with premiums paid by Banks and income generated by the fund s investments exceeding the approximately 4.2 billion the Odic anticipates spending this year to project de fund is expected to have about j18.8 billion at the end of 1986, up from118 billion in december 1985. However the Federal savings and loan insurance corp., which backs deposits at the nation s 3.200 savings and loan associations is nearly exhausted. Congress is expected to take up again Early next year proposal to pump j15 billion into the Sav Ings and loan Deposit insurance fund. Of the 122 Banks that have failed this year almost half of them have been agricultural Banks classified As ins Lillions with at least one fourth of their Loans in agn Cul lure the Chokio stale Bank of Chokio minn., one of the Banks closed Friday fell into this category. It was the third Bank in Minnesota to fail this year and the 54lh agricultural Bank failure ii will reopen monday As the first Bank of Chokio a newly formed Bank selected by the Odic to Purchase Bank and assume control of its is i Mil lion in 2,400 customer accounts. Residents of the Rheinland Pfalz town of Unk a Are temporarily receiving drinking water from Fife trucks. Germans warned of ovoid Rhine because of chemical poisoning Bonn up poisonous Chemi cals that spewed into the Rhine River during a major fire Al a Basel Switzer land chemical factory triggered alerts around the German capital Friday after killing thousands of fish Down Matthiessen environmental minister of the heavily populated stat of nor Rhein westfalen said the poisoning of the Rhine would severely damage the ecological system an cause disruption of the food All drinking water Wells located close 10 the River have bean closed. Authorities have advised sport and com Mercial fishermen to Stop fishing forthe next few Days and cautioned farm ers against watering their Slock Al the authorities in co Logne 280 Miles downstream from Basel warned people to keep i hair children and dogs from playing on the River Bank and to avoid touching dead fish that have washed the German capital located just South of Cologne the opposition so Cial democrats charged that Chan cellar Helmut Kohl s government gave the Public insufficient warning on the extent of the disaster and pledged to raise he Issue in confederation president Al Phonse Egli in a letter to German environmental minister Walter Wall Mann expressed deep regret for effects of the catastrophe on Bild newspaper which obtained a copy of the letter said Egli promised his government would deliver data on the types and amounts of poisons re leased into the chemical pollutants entered the River a week ago Friday during a major fire Al the Sandoz chemical Plant i Basel located where Switzerland touches France and Germany. The head of the German fishermen s organization called the situation the worst disaster Ever to hit the upper said his membership found thai the chemicals were killing Pike Trout and Carp As Well As have to expect that fish and Small Marine organisms in wide stretches of the upper Rhine Between Basel and Karlsruhe will be destroyed he said environmental authorities in Basel estimated thai As much As 30 ions of chemicals got into the River. Mercury herbicides and other poisons were suspected and samples of dead fish were taken for chemical analysis. 5 sentenced in attempt to smuggle arms to Ira Boston a five men including two Irish citizens were sentenced Toi Pris on Friday for their part in a. Failed scheme to smuggle a surface to air mis Sile and other arms to the outlawed Irish Republican army. Four of the five defendants . District judge a. David Malone said slaved late and minor roles in the con Soi Facy bul the possible consequences of the plan were just clearly Loo dangerous to the defendants who pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to illegally Export arms were accused of trying to smuggle 100 rifles. 100 rounds of ammunition and a surface to air missile to the Ira. They and three others were arrested in May at an Airport Wesl of Boson As they were about to Load the weapons aboard a Jet used by the Justice department for the Sling operation prosecutors said. The judge sentenced John a. Mac Donald 37, to the longest sentence. 18 months. He was described by the prosecution As a go Between who introduced an undercover Fri agent to the Ira connections. Mazzone sentenced Macdonald s brother Stephen 35, and Roy Paul Wil Ley. 28, to one year sentences half of which was suspended and two Yean of probation with drug and alcohol counsel ing James Boyle 36, and John Fitzge Rald 30, both Irish citizens living in the Boston area were sentenced to six months in prison. Sentencing for a sixth defendant Michael p. Mclaughlin 27, brother of a Boson City Council member was postponed for a week after his attorney said he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Defense attorneys described the men As minor players in the conspiracy say ing they were led into in because of drinking problems. These men Are the Budweiser brigade of the Irish Republican army Taid at Torney William brawn who represented Stephen Macdonald referring to a co conspirator who was convicted last month Brown said All Noel Murphy had to do was go across the Street to the Shamrock bar and offer to pick up the next round of Beers to gel these people to do whal he wanted them to the men were accused of acting As a loading Crew for Murphy 26, of count Kerry Ireland and alleged Ira Contact Cairn Hughes 24, of Belfast Northern Ireland who were convicted last month of conspiracy to violate Federal arms Export and firearms Laws and unlawful dealing in firearms. They Are scheduled to be sentenced nov. 26
