On April 16, General Growth Properties, Inc. and certain of its affiliates (“GGP”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. GGP operates a national network of approximately 200 shopping centers. To the surprise of many, most of GGP’s property-specific SPE subsidiaries (“SPE Debtors”) also filed for bankruptcy.

Earlier today, the FDIC was appointed as receiver of three banks: Southern Community Bank, Cooperative Bank and First National Bank of Anthony, bringing the total number of bank failures in the nation this year to 40.

On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the “Credit CARD Act of 2009” or the “Act”), Public Law No: 111-24. The Act is intended to crackdown on certain credit card practices perceived as abusive – such as retroactive interest rate increases, "double cycle" billing and the offering of "fee harvester" cards. For credit counseling agencies and those that advertise and market debt management plan services to consumers, the Act is notable in three primary ways:

Tuesday, the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG) issued its report on “the standard-setting implications of

Yesterday, the Oregon Division of Finance & Corporate Securities closed Community First Bank, Prineville, Oregon, and named the FDIC as receiver.

Yesterday, as receiver of two failed Florida banks, First State Bank and Community National Bank of Sarasota County, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Sterns Bank, N.A., St. Cloud, Minnesota, to assume all the deposits of the failed banks. These closings bring the total number of failed bank’s in the nation this year to 71 and 6 in Florida.

Today, the FDIC announced the next steps in further developing the government's Legacy Loan Program (LLP), by testing the LLP program's funding mechanism through the sale of a portfolio of residential mortgage loan receivership assets to a limited liability company (LLC) in exchange for an ownership interest in the LLC.

Today, in the sixth largest bank failure in U.S.

In light of the possibility that several hundred FDIC-insured banks and thrifts may fail in the next two- to three-year period, many clients and friends of the firm have requested a summary of the legal concerns that arise for officers and directors immediately following the seizure of an institution by the FDIC, as well as steps that may be taken to be better prepared before a failure.

Today, Guaranty Bank, headquartered in Austin, Texas, was closed by theOTS and the FDIC was named as receiver.