First National Bank & Trust v. Department of the Treasury
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Thompson, J.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Stephen L. Steinbrink (the Comptroller) appointed a conservator for First National Bank & Trust (the Bank) pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 203 (a) (Supp. II 1990). The Bank and certain of its shareholders sued the Comptroller to terminate the conservator-ship, contending he had violated their rights to procedural due process and had acted arbitrarily and capriciously. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court granted judgment for the Comptroller, from which the Bank appeals. We affirm.
FACTS
On January 15, 1987, Edward Towe became president and chief executive officer of First National Bank and Trust, located in eastern Montana. 1 At that time, the Bank was operating under a November 14, 1986 cease and desist order imposed by the Comptroller.
Between 1987 and 1990, the Comptroller issued increasingly critical examination reports of the Bank, pointing out the Bank’s noncompliance with certain laws and regulations and with the terms of the cease and desist order.
In a May 5,1992 letter to the Bank’s board of directors, the Comptroller described the Bank’s “history of complying with banking laws and regulations, compliance with the Cease…