Deal with bank, trial delay, reported in Wilmington Trust case

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Delaware Online reported today that the trial of former Wilmington Trust executives will be delayed until next year after a deal was reached with the financial services company.

 The trial had been slated to get underway  today.

The case was unusual because Wilmington Trust itself was charged as well as the former executives that include former company president Robert Harra; former CFO, David Gibson, former top credit officer William North and one-time Controller Kevyn Rakowski.

Attorneys for Harra and other defendants have made numerous legal maneuvers in an effort to delay the trial that centers on concealing information on bad loans to regulators. 

The case is in the hands of federal prosecutors because the alleged violations took place as the bank was receiving investments in the TARP program that aimed to shore up banks during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

Wilmington Trust was acquired by Buffalo-based M&T for $300 million as the status of the loans, often for raw land in southern Delaware, became known. 

The selling price was a fraction of the stock price shortly before the sale. 

A wide-ranging case involving loan practices at the bank has involved other individuals, including the former president of a small community bank in Wilmington. Click here  for other stories. 

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