William Ryback

William Ryback was the Deputy Director of Banking Supervision at the Federal Reserve.¹

Role in BCCI Investigation

Ryback was the Federal Reserve's spearhead in the BCCI-First American Bank case.² He had repeatedly investigated the supposed connections between the two banks but had found no concrete evidence.²

In December 1990, Ryback traveled to London and demanded to see the October 1990 audit report of BCCI from Zafar Iqbal, who had recently taken over BCCI.² This audit revealed over $1 billion in loans to an entity coded "XYZ Corp." and that the loans were secured by stock in XYZ, with no repayment.² Ryback concluded that "XYZ Corp." was actually First American Bank and that the loans were made to front men.²

Ryback's findings led him to believe that BCCI had been lying to the Federal Reserve for years, and he sought to have Clark Clifford and Robert Altman investigated for withholding this vital information.²