Ghaith Pharaon, who had links to failed thrifts, and Bank of Credit and 
Commerce, is a long-standing one.

   1975: Georgia banker Bert Lance, later to become Jimmy Carter's budget 
director, takes over as president of Financial Bank Shares (later to 
become BCCI-controlled First American Bank) in the District of Columbia.  
The same year Lance and other investors buy the National Bank of Georgia.


   1977: Amid a growing scandal involving misuse of Lance's position with 
NBG, (Lance was later barred from banking), BCCI indicated it would like 
to buy Lance's Georgia bank.  Due to Bank of America's large ownership 
share in BCCI, BCCI could not legally do so.  Instead Pharaon purchased 
60% of the stock in NBG.  He paid $ 20 a share, double the amount the 
bank's stock was trading for at the time.  Pharaon later acquired all the 
remaining shares and hired Lance as a paid consultant to NBG.  BCCI later 
loaned Lance $ 3.5 million.

   1977: Pharaon teamed up with former Treasury Secretary John Connally 
to buy  Main Bank  in  Houston,  Texas.

   1978: The New York Times reported that BCCI was behind Pharaon's 
purchase of Bert Lance's NBG.

   1979: Pharaon hired Roy Carlson to run NBG.  Carlson had been 
responsible for monitoring Bank of America's investment in BCCI.

   1985: Pharaon buys Independence Bank in Encino California.  According 
to banking analyst Larry Gurwin, negotiations for the purchase were 
handled by BCCI officers.  Pharaon, according to Mr. Gurwin, was a 
"passive investor."

   1986: Independence Bank makes a $ 2.2 million loan to state senator 
Alan Robbins who then loans $ 900,000 of that money to Michael Goland.  
Goland then distributes the money to 10 straw buyers who purchase Viking 
Savings and Loan for Goland.

   1986: Pharaon purchases a 28% stake in CenTrust Savings.

   1987: First American Bank purchases control of NBG from Pharaon for $ 
225 million.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH


                                                                       
PAGE    2                                   Copyright 1981 The Economist 
Newspaper Ltd.