The NCUA scored a major victory in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver Aug. 19 it its quest to recover losses from big banks that sold mortgage backed securities to failed corporates.
The ruling, which was prompted by a directive from the U.S. Supreme Court in June, sided with the NCUA's claim that the three-year time frame defendants have to file loss claims began when it seized three failed corporates, not when the corporates purchased the securities.
The NCUA can now move forward with lawsuits filed in Kansas on behalf of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union seeking damages over $1.74 billion in securities the two failed corporates purchased. The NCUA alleged in that case and in others that investment banks, including such big names as Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, knowingly sold securities to corporate credit unions without disclosing significant credit risk in the mortgages supporting them.
The ruling will not only carry weight with the NCUA's suits but also lawsuits filed by other regulators seeking similar damages from investment banks over mortgage backed securities losses.
Any additional losses the NCUA collects from the banks would offset corporate stabilization costs. The NCUA announced earlier this year it would not likely charge another corporate assessment to credit unions, as settlements with other banks, assessments and improved legacy asset performance have exceeded remaining corporate settlement expenses. However, the NCUA also downplayed the likelihood credit unions would receive a rebate in 2021, when corporate stabilization ends and the NCUA's Guaranteed Notes mature.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
