Downtown D.C. banks shut doors temporarily after bomb threat

WASHINGTON -- Many bank branches in the nation's capital closed Monday after the FBI warned of a bomb threat.

Washington police received a telephone call from the Netherlands on Sunday, saying that a bomb would explode "at a national bank in the center of Washington, D.C." at noon Monday, according to a memo the FBI distributed to banks. The hour passed without incident.

Authorities didn't order banks to shut down, but many decided to temporarily shut branches as a precaution. They planned to reopen today.

By late afternoon, Dutch public prosecutor spokesman Wim de Bruin said the threat was a prank by a 13-year old Dutch boy. "He admitted that he had sent the threat from his mobile telephone," de Bruin said.

Charges had not been filed by late Monday afternoon.

Despite the bank closings, customers were still able to get cash at ATMs and conduct other transactions over the Internet and over the telephone or visit branches just outside Washington.

That helped minimize disruptions, bank representatives said.

Analysts didn't foresee much economic impact.

"There are so many options available to consumers and to banks to carry out normal transactions," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo.

Credibility questioned

The FBI told banks that it didn't have "reason to assign a high degree of credibility" to the telephoned bomb threat.

Against this backdrop, Riggs closed its 34 branches in the district a little after 11 a.m. "Safety for our customers and employees was our utmost concern," said spokesman Mark Hendrix.