The Roberts Plaintiffs delivered their opening brief to the Seventh Circuit this week in their continuing effort to unwind the net worth sweep, and a copy is attached to this e-mail message, “Any interpretation of HERA this Court adopts will apply with equal force to the provisions of FIRREA that govern bank conservatorships and receiverships,” the Roberts Plaintiffs caution the Seventh Circuit in the penultimate paragraph of their opening brief. “If federal conservators are held to have the unchecked power to nationalize their wards, no matter how profitable, it will be much more difficult for banks and other financial institutions to raise capital during future periods of economic instability. The cost of capital for troubled financial institutions will rise, financial regulators’ work will become more difficult, and the number of bank failures will increase. While the Net Worth Sweep has so far been immensely profitable for the federal government — reducing the federal deficit by $130 billion thanks to excess ‘dividend’ payments — regulators may live to regret the precedent Defendants ask this Court to establish.”17-1880-0017
