ECONOMIC-ISSUES IN THE DEFENSE OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF FINANCIALINSTITUTIONS

The failure of numerous U. S. financial institutions during the late 1 980s and the 1990s has resulted in an increasing number of lawsuits at tempting to hold directors and officers responsible for associated los ses. The authors maintain that, independent of any business decisions made by these individuals, many institutions were already destined to fail in the volatile regulatory environment of the 1970s and 1980s. Th e authors help attorneys formulate an effective defense for directors and officers of failed financial institutions by offering a brief hist ory of the unpredictable regulatory environment in which these individ uals made business decisions, and by explaining the nature of argument s that are important in defending such lawsuits.