[US Banker]

U.S. Bancorp (USB) has landed in the crosshairs of an animal-rights group.

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty said Monday that a U.S. Bancorp unit is a lender to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a U.K.-based research facility that helps makers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cosmetics and other products assess the safety of their wares.

A $120-million loan used to finance a transaction in 2009 that put the lab under private ownership "is now with" U.S. Bank, according to SHAC, which accuses Huntingdon of "cruel, unscientific and anarchic methods of vivisection."

"Any company or individual that continues to assist [Huntingdon] with any loans or financial support of any kind will be targeted globally by our campaign until they too cease all involvement like many companies before them," the group said in a press release. SHAC added that other financial institutions have severed ties to Huntingdon because of the company's practices.

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full story:
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_24/u-s-bancorp-targeted-by-animal-right-activists-1056455-1.html