OTHER NEWS - Aug. 20, 1996

Argentine Bank Sues IBM Over Contract: Banco Nacion has filed a $173.6-million lawsuit against International Business Machines Corp. over a scandal-plagued contract. The lawsuit, filed late Friday, follows a similar $86-million suit IBM filed in July after Banco Nacion canceled a $249-million contract IBM had won to computerize the bank’s 525 branches. A spokesman at IBM’s headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., said the company had no comment. IBM’s Argentina subsidiary has been accused of paying bribes to land the contract. Federal Judge Adolfo Bagnasco indicted 30 people in March on charges of defrauding the state. The FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are also investigating the case.