By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - The bank regulator in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has not launched a formal investigation into Stanford International Bank, but will question bank officials about issues raised in press reports, the regulator's chief executive told Reuters on Friday.
Leroy King, head of Antigua's Financial Services Regulatory Commission, said he had received no customer complaints or credible evidence that would require a formal probe of Stanford, the Caribbean arm of Stanford Group Co, which is being looked at by U.S. regulators.
"We have no credible information coming to us to say that they are not sound," King said in a telephone interview.
King said his agency had received requests for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and would be reviewing those requests later on Friday before meeting with Stanford International officials to question them.
BusinessWeek reported that U.S. regulators were investigating Stanford's ability to pay high yields on certificates of deposit as it invests CD money largely in stocks, real estate, hedge funds and precious metals, many of which have lost value in recent months.
King said his agency's last examination of Stanford International, a few months ago, raised no red flags. He downplayed any comparisons to the collapse of New York money manager Bernard Madoff's financial empire, which has been called a Ponzi scheme.
"I hope they're wrong. I think they're wrong," he said. "Unless we were duped, I don't think it is (a Madoff-like scenario)."
King said there had been no reports of a run on Stanford International assets, but he would quiz bank officials later on Friday, in part due to his responsibility to protect Antigua and Barbuda's reputation.
"They are our biggest bank," he said, "but we can't let that ride over Antigua and Barbuda's name."
King declined to say what his agency would ask Stanford officials, but said regulators would "dig a little deeper" because of the suggestions made in press reports.
"It's not a Friday afternoon cocktail any more," he said. "It's taking off the gloves. We have a job to do to protect our jurisdiction."
(Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Lisa Von Ahn)
