Beginning with only US$1 million in funds, TDB grew into the flagship of Safra’s international banking empire, with nearly US$5 billion in deposits by the early 1980s.
TDB's mode of banking was different from much of that done in the Western world, as it relied on intimacy and familiarity with depositors' personalities rather than balance sheets and hard numbers.
TDB was only notified of the Investors deal after their executives received a dispatch fresh from the Dow Jones news wire.
In response, American Express acted on its suspicions about Safra's business activities, reporting to the media that he was being investigated by the FBI for involvement in the Iran–Contra affair, in addition to drug trafficking and collaboration with the mafia.
These accusations were later confirmed to be false by Harry Freeman, Robinson's right-hand man and public relations chief; he would eventually resign from American Express.