OCC's consumer guide to funds an unexpected best seller.

The Office of the Comptroller of Currency is getting a lesson in supply and demand from an unexpected source: bankers.

Late last month, Comptroller Eugene A. Ludwig introduced a pamphlet designed to educate consumers about investing in mutual funds. In just the few weeks since then, requests for copies have far exceeded the number of guides the Comptroller's office ordered.

"We had no idea it would be so high," said Lee Cross, a spokeswoman for the OCC.

The OCC initially shipped 50,000 copies of "Deposits and Investments: There's a Critical Difference" to the Consumer Information Center, the Pueblo, Colo.-based clearing house for public service messages.

|They're Going Fast'

In addition to encouraging consumers to write the center for a copy of the guide, the OCC sent a copy to each national bank.

Already a big dent has been made in the initial supply of 50,000 copies.

"At this point, we don't have plans to reprint, but they're going fast." Ms. Cross said.

Bankers, who sometimes groan when the Comptroller issues guidelines, greeted the consumer guide with glee.

The OCC has received many requests, including one for 50,000 and another for 500,000, Ms. Cross said. "Clearly there is an interest in it."

Enthusiasm in Boston

"I want to give every customer a copy of the OCC's booklet," said Allen W. Croessmann, director of Bank of Boston's mutual funds program.

In fact, the bank's marketing department was so thrilled about having an OCC brochure to distribute to potential mutual fund customers that it put in a request for more.

"I wanted to order 15,000 for the first quarter of 1994," said Jay S. Spahr, senior product manager at Bank of Boston.

The Consumer Bankers Association forwarded pamphlets it received to members, along with a memo encouraging community banks to distribute the pamphlets, or something similar, to customers, said Fritz Elmendorf, communications director for the Arlington, Va.-based trade association.

Five Copies at a Time

"The OCC has produced a very good piece," the CBA wrote its members.

But when bankers tried to obtain copies to give to customers, they encountered a few hitches.

Bankers who called the Colorado clearing house were told they could get just five copies at a time. Those that requested more were directed to the Comptroller's information office, said Pam Jones, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Information Center.

People ordering pamphlets directly from the Comptroller's office can get up to 1,000 for $10 per 50 copies.

Unaccustomed Role

Banks wanting more can obtain the negatives from the printer at cost, Ms. Cross said.

Unfortunately, the Comptroller's office is "not used to dealing with this and had no idea what the demand would be," Ms. Jones said.

The OCC is also encouraging banks to take the material and reprint it, Ms. Cross said. That way, they can also include their own logo, she pointed out.

Other banks are taking matters into their own hands.

Warning on Insurance

Fleet Investment Services, a division of the Providence, R.I.-based bank, is distributing a guide of its own.

The pamphlet tempers its recommendation of Fleet's Galaxy Funds by warning that, unlike certificates of deposit, mutual fund shares "are not federally insured by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency." The guide also advises customers that "past performance is not indicative of future results."

That should please the comptroller, who is concerned that consumers still don't understand the risks associated with investing in mutual funds.

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