More than a dozen Wall Street firms are joining forces to create a company that will offer a customer database to the financial services industry for screening out suspected criminals. The move is intended to help companies comply with new antiterrorist regulations.

The Regulatory DataCorp Int'l LLC is principally the creation of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, but it's also being financially supported by firms such as Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and UBS PaineWebber Inc.

The company is expected to launch in the next couple of weeks, said a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman. Other companies involved in the venture didn't return phone calls or declined to comment.

According to published reports, Regulatory DataCorp will compile information from public resources including international, federal and local law enforcement records. It will then sell access to the database to other companies so they can screen potential customers. Regulatory DataCorp will be a separate company from its founders, said the Goldman Sachs spokeswoman, who declined to comment further on the venture.

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