American officials say an al-Qaida leader now in U.S. custody told interrogators that terrorists had discussed plans for striking banks and other financial institutions in the United States. 

The statements by Abu Zubaydeh, the only top al-Qaida leader the United States has captured since September 11, prompted the FBI to pass along the warning to law enforcement agencies in Washington and 12 mostly northeastern U.S. states. 

News reports, quoting unnamed senior administration officials, have cautioned that intelligence agencies remain highly skeptical of Mr. Zubaydeh's credibility. 

The FBI said the threats against U.S. banks are "unsubstantiated," but that the warning was made public "out of an abundance of caution." In making the announcement Friday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft cautioned that the FBI does not have any information about a specific threat to a specific bank. 

The FBI said the overall U.S. national terrorist threat status remains unchanged at "yellow" - the middle level of seriousness in a new official U.S. threat assessment system. 

The alert comes as world finance ministers gather in Washington for meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. 

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