Newsroom

October 20, 2016

NCUA reveals details of recoveries; has paid $1B in legal fees

NCUA has paid more than $1 billion in contingency fees – 23.2 percent of total recoveries – from lawsuits against the firms that sold faulty securities to five now-defunct corporate credit unions, the agency said in announcing a new webpage detailing information about the lawsuits.

"NAFCU has been asking the NCUA Board to provide this detailed information for quite some time," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "We thank Board Chairman Rick Metsger and Board Member J. Mark McWatters for their continued pursuit of recoveries on behalf of the failed corporate credit unions."

As of Oct. 11, NCUA has recovered more than $4.3 billion from litigation related to the sale of faulty securities sold to the corporate credit unions. Net proceeds are used to pay claims against the corporate credit unions, including those of the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund, and are expected to provide some offset to the assessments credit unions have paid for stabilization. Other suits are still in progress.

The agency announced Tuesday that it plans to fully repay the $1 billion outstanding balance on the agency's borrowing line with the Treasury Department this month. This repays in full all outstanding borrowings of the TCCUSF. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger commended the NCUA Board for its leadership in completing the agency's repayment to the Treasury Department in a letter Thursday, and he urged the board members to develop a plan to dissolve the TCCUSF.

NCUA's board, acting as liquidating agent for the five corporate credit unions, has filed 26 complaints against 32 defendants in federal courts in California, Kansas and New York.

Among the lawsuits filed were two complaints against 17 banks, alleging their manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the benchmark used to set interest rates around the globe. That manipulation, the suits allege, resulted in the loss of income from investments and other assets by the failed corporate credit unions.

The lawsuits also include four complaints against five trustees for residential mortgage-backed securities, alleging failure to fulfill duties to trust beneficiaries.