Depositors safe From Bank's Losses

The unexplained disappearance of $187,125 from the cambridge trust Company's bankroll poses no threat to the bank's depositors and sharholders, officials at the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) said this week.

The loss of this sum, which was announced in the company's 1984 annual report, was discovered several months ago, bank officials said Wednesday.

Because bank officials believe the mysterious shortfall was deliberately hidden in bank transactions occurring more than a year ago, the company is currently conducting an internal investigation of all bank employees believed to be involved, the annual report said.

"This does happen from time to time," said Jesse Snyder, a spokesman for the Boston branch of the FDIC, adding that banks rely on federal insurance to compensate for such losses. "There should be no impact on customers, depositors or shareholders."

The local bank's earnings should sufficiently offset the loss and diminish its overall significance, according to Cambridge Trust President Lewis H. Clark.

Although the company will have to pay an increased insurance premium, Snyder said that "Cambridge Trust is big enough so that this doesn't jeopardize anything."

To insure that a similar situation cannot happen again, bank officials said they are reviewing a number of procedures.

"We don't want to leave the barn door open," Clark said.