Obama donors get deal; depositors get ‘stiffed again’
FDIC eases settlement for bankers
By Chuck Neubauer - The Washington Times
Sunday, June 10, 2012
A billionaire Chicago family that has donated and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for President Obama got a deal from the federal government to avoid paying all of a $460 million settlement it agreed to in the 2001 failure of a Chicago-area bank it owned, while 1,400 former depositors are still owed more than $10 million in lost savings.
And now, 11 years later, the prospect that any of the depositors will get their money back is bleak.
The Pritzker family, which made its fortune in hotels and manufacturing,
agreed to a $460 million settlement offer in December 2001 to avoid sanctions and civil lawsuits in the failure of Superior Bank in Hinsdale, Ill.
But after paying $316 million of the interest-free debt, the family quietly struck a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) in June 2011 to discount the balance in return for paying off the debt early.
“We have been stiffed again,” said Fran Sweet, 67, a depositor still owed $70,000. “It is a lot to lose. We are not wealthy people. We are white-collar and blue-collar workers who saved this money, [or] thought we saved this money.”
Obama donors get deal; depositors get 'stiffed again' - Washington Times
