Does anyone know anything about this? Sabri
+++++ Top World News 04/15 14:23 Washington Banks Closed After Police Get Bomb Threat (Update4) By Anna Marie Stolley Washington, April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Banks in Washington closed today as a security precaution after a bomb threat was received by local police. Charlene Sloan, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Washington police received a call from the Netherlands yesterday, advising of a possible bomb at an unspecified national bank in the city. The bureau sent a security advisory to area banks earlier today. "Bank personnel are simply reminded to be vigilant of their surroundings and the events occurring around them," the bureau said in a statement. The bomb threat comes as local police face a busy week providing security for various events, including a pro-Israel rally at the U.S. Capitol today and planned protests at the twice- annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank next weekend. A march opposing U.S. anti-terror policies is planned for Saturday. The FBI said it knows no connection at this time between the bomb threat and the protest activities, Sloan said. The caller warned that a bomb would be detonated at noon today, the FBI said. The caller said he learned his information from an informant and mentioned the type of explosives that would be used. The FBI said it "does not have reason to assign a high degree of credibility" to the threat; "however, due to the specificity of the information provided," the bureau decided to issue a warning to banks. Bank Closings SunTrust Banks Inc., the 10th largest U.S. bank, closed its 23 metro Washington branches and evacuated employees around 11 a.m. Washington time, bank spokesman Barry Koling said. Wachovia Corp., the fourth-biggest U.S. bank, said it closed about 25 offices in the Washington area, but it plans to open those locations tomorrow. Riggs National Corp., the biggest Washington-based bank, closed 34 branches and its headquarters building shortly after 11 a.m., said spokesman Mark Hendrix. He estimated that half of its 1,500-person workforce was sent home. BB&T Corp., the fourth-biggest southeastern U.S. bank, decided to close its seven branches in Washington at about 12:30 p.m., said spokeswoman A.C. McGraw. Adams National Bank, a community bank based in Washington, locked the doors at its five branches after local police personally delivered the warning to each office. Adams was still doing business with its known customers, said David Glaser, the bank's senior vice president. "We're a community bank, and we know most of our customers by face," he said. Officials with Citigroup Inc. and Allfirst Financial Inc., which each have about a dozen branches in Washington, didn't immediately return phone calls for comment. ATM Lines Customers at downtown Washington banks were greeted with signs announcing that the offices would be closed until tomorrow. While some notices attributed the closings to a security alert, others provided no reason. Pedestrians continued to walk past bank branches, and customers lined up at automatic teller machines, in many cases just feet from the front doors of the branches. The Comptroller of the Currency, an arm of the Treasury Department that regulates national banks, issued a proclamation allowing banks it regulates to close ``at their discretion'' due to the FBI security warning. There are 195 bank offices and branches within the District of Columbia, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Web site. By early afternoon Washington time, employees had begun returning to two Bank of America Corp. office buildings at 730 15th St. NW and 1801 K St. The bank's 30 area branches are scheduled to open tomorrow, bank spokeswoman Mary Waller said. "We are comfortable to have our associates in those buildings," said Waller, declining to say whether the third- biggest U.S. bank conducted bomb searches of the buildings.
