On Friday, the Office of the Minnesota Department of Commerce closed Community Security Bank, headquartered in New Prague, Minnesota, and appointed the FDIC as receiver for the bank. As receiver, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Roundbank, headquartered in Waseca, Minnesota, to assume all of the deposits of Community Security Bank.
SMITH v. SIPI, LLC (July 27, 2010)
In a decision filed on July 7th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court decision upholding a bankruptcy court order granting summary judgment to American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (American Home) in connection with a repurchase transaction entered into in 2007 under which American Home sold certain certificates to Bear Stearns International Ltd. (Bear Stearns) for $19,534,000 and agreed to re-purchase the certificates at a later date for $19,636,879.07. In re American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc., 2010 WL 2676383 (3d Cir.
On July 13, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held, in a landmark decision, that a plan sponsor which had the right to unilaterally terminate retiree benefits outside of bankruptcy could not exercise that same right during a bankruptcy proceeding. The case, IUE-CWA v. Visteon Corp. (In re Visteon Corp.), marks the first time that a Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a bankrupt employer in its attempt to unilaterally terminate non-vested retiree welfare benefits.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has held that policy proceeds were not part of the insured entity’s bankruptcy estate because previous entity claims were dismissed with prejudice, it was highly speculative that the bankruptcy trustee would approve indemnification of directors and officers and the policy’s priority of payment provision provided that entity coverage was only available after payment of proceeds for direct coverage to insured persons. In re Downey Fin. Corp., 428 B.R. 595 (D. Del. Bankr. May 7, 2010).
The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) estimates that by the end of 2010, more than 300 banks will have failed, and that the cost of resolving these failures may reach $100 billion over the next four years.1
The Federal Trade Commission has had a full mailbox recently. It received a request to investigate caffeine-infused malt beverages and a request for a new privacy law. And the FTC sent a cautionary letter to a magazine addressing privacy issues in a consumer bankruptcy.
The District Court for the Northern District of Ohio recently clarified the applicable requirements for post-petition severance payments to a debtor’s former officers. In the case of In re: Forum Health, et al.1, the debtor sought authorization from the Court to make a severance payment in the amount of $18,126.00 to its former Chief Executive Officer. The Trustee objected, asserting that the debtor’s motion was not based on a program that was generally applicable to all full-time employees as required by 11 U.S.C. § 503(c)(2)(A).
On July 16th, the OCC announced that it has approved the use of a shelf charter for the acquisition of a failed bank, allowing NAFH National Bank, Miami, Florida, to acquire two banks in Florida and one in South Carolina. This is the second instance in which a shelf charter was approved for use in such an acquisition. OCC Press Release.
On Friday, the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner closed Thunder Bank, headquartered in Sylvan Grove, Kansas, and appointed the FDIC as receiver for the bank. As receiver, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Bennington State Bank, headquartered in Salina, Kansas, to assume all of the deposits of Thunder Bank.