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A federal judge has ordered Bank of America to pay $540.3 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in a long-standing legal battle over underpaid deposit insurance assessments. The ruling, made public on Monday, stems from assessments owed between the second quarter of 2013 and the end of 2014, and includes accrued interest.
According to Reuters, the lawsuit dates back to 2017, when the FDIC sued the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender for $1.12 billion. The complaint alleged that Bank of America failed to comply with a 2011 federal rule that altered how banks report their exposure to counterparty risks—a regulation introduced as part of broader reforms to safeguard the US banking system following the 2008 financial crisis.
In her 59-page ruling, US District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, DC, dismissed Bank of America’s argument that the FDIC’s actions were arbitrary and lacked a reasonable basis. She emphasized that the FDIC was not required to develop a flawless metric for measuring potential losses and noted that Bank of America could not claim it lacked sufficient notice regarding its obligations.
However, Judge AliKhan also determined that the FDIC had waited too long to pursue claims related to periods before the second quarter of 2013.
Bank of America has strongly denied any intention of evading payments. In a statement to Reuters, spokesperson Bill Halldin said, “We are pleased the judge has ruled and have reserves reflecting the decision.”
The FDIC declined to comment on the ruling. Judge AliKhan issued the decision on March 31, releasing a partially redacted version to the public.
Bank of America, the second-largest US bank, is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. The case is FDIC v. Bank of America NA, US District Court, District of Columbia, No. 17-00036.
