In Brief: U.S. Bancorp Sues Pa. Bank Over Web Name

U.S. Bancorp is suing USABanc.com, a small Philadelphia institution with an aggressive Internet strategy, over its recently adopted name.

James M. Rosenbaum, a federal judge in Minnesota, ordered a preliminary injunction Tuesday against USABanc.com to suspend its Web site and stop advertising until the two banks resolve their dispute. USABanc.com launched its on-line banking service Monday.

In its lawsuit, $76 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp alleged that USABanc.com's name would confuse consumers who were seeking to do business with U.S. Bancorp, whose Web address is www.usbank.com.

"This is not really a lawsuit about e-commerce," said Donn Waage, a spokesman for U.S. Bancorp, the nation's 13th-largest banking company. "It's a lawsuit about corporate identity."

In response to the injunction, USABanc.com announced Wednesday that it would begin using USABancShares.com as its "permanent on-line identification." The $250 million-asset bank holding company changed its name from USABancShares to USABanc.com earlier this year, becoming the first bank holding company to have a "dot-com" name.

"In light of the temporary order, which requires us to refrain from doing business as USABanc.com, we have reverted our on-line identification to USABancShares to preserve access to our FDIC-insured products," said Ken Tepper, the president and CEO.

Before launching its Internet bank, USABanc.com operated three branches in the Philadelphia area. -- Ross Snel