Washington Mutual Inc. has filed suit against the FDIC seeking to recover roughly $13 billion connected to the seizure and sale of its banking arm by federal regulators.
From Reuters:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Washington Mutual Inc, the failed U.S. savings and loan, has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp for well over $13 billion in connection with the loss of its banking operations, which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the thrift’s former parent accused the FDIC of having on January 23 made a “cryptic disallowance” of its claims, prompting the lawsuit.
It also accused the FDIC of agreeing to an unreasonably low price in arranging the a $1.9 billion sale of the banking business to JPMorgan on September 25, when regulators seized Washington Mutual and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
JPMorgan did not buy the parent holding company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the following day.
In its complaint, Washington Mutual seeks to recover as much as $6.5 billion of capital contributions it said it made to its banking unit from December 2007 through the seizure.
Washington Mutual also seeks the return of $4 billion of trust preferred securities it said were wrongfully transferred to the banking unit, and said it may be entitled to as much as $3 billion of tax refunds. It also seeks damages of $177.1 million related to unpaid loans made to the banking unit.
I don’t have any specific comments on this case although I have the feeling this may be the first of many suits filed against the FDIC.