Great Western Bank and James Kerkhove

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 17585 / June 25, 2002

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Great Western Bank and James Kerkhove, Civil Action No. 8:02CV296 (D. Nebraska)

On June 24, 2002, the United States District Court in Omaha, Nebraska, entered an order in a subpoena enforcement case requiring Great Western Bank, a Nebraska state bank based in Omaha, and James Kerkhove, a senior vice president and trust officer of the bank, to comply Commission subpoenas. The subpoenas were issued in the investigation captioned Freedom Financial, Inc. Great Western Bank and Kerkhove had objected to the subpoenas based on a Nebraska state statute that purported to prohibit the bank from disclosing any information without a court order. In its subpoena enforcement case, the Commission noted that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution precludes a state from imposing restrictions on subpoenas issued by federal agencies such as the Commission. The order signed by Judge Joseph Bataillon states that the provisions of the Nebraska statute have no force or effect concerning a Commission subpoena.