WASHINGTON--A federal hearing to determine whether First National Bank of Chicago should be required to reimburse dissatisfied investors in a real estate trust will begin Monday.
The Comptroller of the Currency announced the hearing Wednesday and noted that it could last two to three weeks. The agency will try to convince an administrative law judge that the unit of First Chicago Corp. is in arrears to 25 employee benefit plans that invested in the trust.
How much First Chicago may owe is in dispute. A First Chicago spokeswoman said the bank's liability is $28.5 million, at most. But an OCC spokesman said First Chicago also is on the hook for principal repayment to some participants; he did not know how much that totals.
OCC rules require banks to repay within one year investors who want to withdraw from real estate investment trusts.
