NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said Thursday she’s pleased Kansas Federal District Court denied the majority of defendants’ motions to dismiss the agency’s lawsuits for losses from mortgage-backed securities purchased by U.S. Central Federal Credit Union.
“The Wall Street firms that created and sold these securities materially misrepresented the inherent level of risks to investors,” Matz said. “We will continue to vigorously pursue these lawsuits, and the others previously filed. As liquidating agent for U.S. Central, NCUA has a duty to maximize recoveries from responsible parties, in order to limit losses to the federally insured credit union system.”
NCUA filed two lawsuits against RBS Securities, Wachovia, and nine other defendants who were involved in issuing 29 residential mortgage-backed securities purchased by U.S. Central. The lawsuits, which were consolidated by the court, alleged violations of federal and state securities laws and misrepresentations in the sale of the securities to U.S. Central. The court granted part of the defendants’ motions to dismiss and denied the remainder, with the result that 80% of the claims continue forward, the NCUA said in a release.
The lawsuits covered by the court’s ruling are similar to several other cases previously filed by NCUA as liquidating agent for U.S. Central and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union against J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, and others. NCUA has previously settled claims worth $170.75 million with Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, and HSBC.
Losses from the U.S. Central, WesCorp, and three other corporate credit union failures are paid from the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund and are being repaid through assessments on federally insured credit unions. Net proceeds from the settlements received to date, as well as any future recoveries, will allow NCUA to minimize losses from the five corporate credit union failures. They will also help to reduce the total amount that credit unions have to pay for the corporate credit unions’ system losses, the NCUA said.
