Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Bank of Am., N.A.

308 F. Supp. 3d 197
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit·Decided March 27, 2018·No. Civil Action No. 17–36 (EGS)·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Emmet G. Sullivan, United States District Judge

I. Introduction

Every quarter, insured banking institutions make payments, known as "assessments," into the Deposit Insurance Fund ("Fund"), which insures depositors' accounts up to $250,000. Pursuant to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ("FDIA" or "Act"), see 12 U.S.C. § 1817, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") created a "risk-based" system to calculate each institution's assessment based on that institution's self-reported, quarterly data. The FDIC alleges that defendant Bank of America, N.A. ("BANA") improperly reported its quarterly data, thereby underpaying for deposit insurance. According to the FDIC, BANA owes $1.12 billion in deposit insurance assessments, which it refuses to pay.

The FDIC's amended complaint alleges that (1) BANA failed to pay mandatory assessments in violation of the FDIA; and (2) BANA was unjustly enriched when it received deposit insurance without fully paying for it. BANA counterclaimed, challenging the FDIC's regulations, which purportedly set out the method by which regulated institutions must calculate and report their quarterly data. BANA argues that the regulations violate the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 500 et seq. , and are contrary to the FDIA. Pending before the Court is BANA's motion to dismiss the FDIC's amended complaint in part or strike in part. See Def.'s Mot., ECF No. 13.1 After careful consideration of the motion, the response, the reply thereto, and the applicable law, BANA's motion to dismiss or strike the FDIC's amended complaint in part is DENIED .

*200II. Background

The FDIC is a "government corporation and instrumentality of the United States." Am. Compl., ECF No. 10 ¶ 16. It examines and supervises almost 3,800 commercial banks and savings institutions for operational safety and soundness. Id. It also administers the Fund, which provides deposit insurance to over 5,000 banks and savings institutions, insuring accounts of up to $250,000 per depositor. Id. ¶¶ 2, 16. If an institution fails, the FDIC ensures that the depositors are able to access their insured accounts at that institution; if the institution's assets are insufficient to return all insured deposits, the FDIC pays the balance from the Fund. Id. ¶ 21.

As required by the FDIA, the FDIC finances the Fund with assessments collected from FDIC-insured institutions. Id. ¶ 24. To determine the amount that each institution must pay, the FDIC utilizes a "risk-based" assessment system. Id. The system calculates each assessment rate based on that institution's "risk profile." Id. The risk profile captures the probability that the institution will fail and, in the event of failure, the potential amount of loss that the Fund will bear. Id. To determine each institution's risk profile, the FDIC implemented a "regulatory regime" that requires certain institutions to self-report specific data via quarterly "Call Report[s]." Id. ¶¶ 29, 32. This data, which includes the amount, that the institution has lent to other entities, is intended to capture the risk of failure.2 Id. ¶¶ 30-39. Because BANA is one of the largest insured institutions, it is subject to the FDIC's assessment system and must report its quarterly data. Id. ¶ 25.

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Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Bank of Am., N.A., 308 F. Supp. 3d 197 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

308 F. Supp. 3d 197 (Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Bank of Am., N.A.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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