9-3-95. NYPaper: "500,000 Clients, No Branches. Phone Banking Is Catching On." Bankers from around the world are making the pilgrimage to Leeds in the north of England for a miracle cure at their stagnant industry's equivalent of a Lourdes. Here is First Direct, a bank with half a million customers and not a single branch. It is the world's leading telephone-only bank; it is the fastest-growing bank in Britain. On the walls are sports stadium scoreboards, constantly flashing the number of customers on hold and how long they have been waiting. While a banker serves a customer, his computer screen is displaying all sorts of personal information about her. "No Adverse Risk" flashes at the top, indicating that the bank would be glad to loan her money. Also displayed is the fact that she is a 30-year-old single renter with a job as a project manager, along with a list of all the bank's prior contacts with her. PEE_per