Three days after Hurricane Katrina charged the Gulf Coast, regulators had yet to establish contact with some of the 152 banks that operate 1,400 branches in the 49 counties designated as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Phone service is still spotty in the region, and just two of the four federal banking agencies could say how many of the institutions they supervise remain unaccounted for.
Kevin Mukri, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said it has been in touch with all but "a handful" of the 17 nationally chartered banks in the affected areas. The Federal Reserve Board said it has contacted all nine of the affected state-member banks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which oversee the bulk of the banks in the region, could not say Thursday how many are still out of contact with their examiners.
Mac Deaver, the executive director of the Mississippi Bankers Association, said phone lines are down along the Gulf Coast, and most places south of Jackson are still without power.
"The biggest problem is communication," he said. "We have banks in areas that we still have not heard from."
The trade group is working with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to find missing bankers, according to Mr. Deaver, but he said he had to convince the agency that contacting bankers was a priority.
"We made it clear that bankers play a key role in the lives of people trying to survive and get their lives back together," he said.
Mr. Deaver did say he has heard that a few banks in Gulfport and Biloxi were opening branches Thursday.
Government officials were more visible that day. FDIC Chairman Donald Powell said on CNBC that he does not expect any bank to fail as result of the hurricane.
"There will be some institutions that will be stressed," he said. "I'm confident that these banks that will be stressed will be able to attract or retain enough capital to continue on."
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said the storm's effects would be on the committee's agenda when Congress reconvenes next week.
"I will … seek to identify areas within the Banking Committee's jurisdiction where Congress can act to further ease the burden on those that have been affected to help them recover and rebuild from this terrible tragedy."
The White House announced that President Bush discussed the potential economic effects over lunch with Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. The President is expected to travel Friday to the affected areas to assess the damage firsthand.
FDIC spokesman David Barr said Mr. Powell has been invited to tour the region by Louisiana's top bank regulator and will visit the state soon. The spokesman also said the agency is encouraging banks outside the disaster area to help affected banks by sharing facilities and access to computers.
Regulations may be relaxed to let state-chartered institutions partner temporarily with national banks, Mr. Barr said.
Space - both business and personal - is at a premium with most of the New Orleans banks moving to Baton Rouge.
"Banks in the less affected areas are offering access to office space, computer access, and anything they can do to help," said Peter Gwaltney, the executive director of the Louisiana Bankers Association.
One of the greatest needs, however, is living space for the bankers who have lost their homes. Mr. Gwaltney said he is encouraging bankers in the area to offer their extra bedrooms.
"Most of the executives left the greater New Orleans area and went to Memphis or Houston, and now they have nowhere to go back to," he said.
Dan Digby, the president of Community Bankers of Louisiana, said three New Orleans-area banks - Omni Bank, State-Investors Bank, and Fifth District Savings Bank - were temporarily setting up offices in his building in Baton Rouge.
Computer technicians are running new wires through the building, and the group's conference center is being turned into makeshift offices, he said. "These guys can't go back in and assess their banks."
