WASHINGTON - October 8, 2010 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has authorized lawsuits against more than 50 executives at failed banks across the country in an attempt to recover more than $1 billion of the agency's losses during the credit crisis.
More than 50 bank officers and directors were negligent, committed fraud or otherwise breached their duties and are, therefore, legally liable, the FDIC concluded after lengthy investigations into the first wave of bank failures.
The FDIC, which insures bank deposits, has lost more than $75 billion in nearly 300 bank failures since 2008, and officials view the lawsuits against the responsible parties in part as a means to recoup some of the losses.
Similar efforts after the lending failures in the 1980s, which were aimed at the involved officials, attorneys, accountants and securities brokers, recovered more than $5 billion.
"These investigations are now beginning to produce results, and we anticipate that many more will be authorized," FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said in a statement Friday evening. "As a matter of policy, the FDIC believes strongly in accountability for directors and officers whose personal misconduct led to a bank's failure."
