12 U.S.C. § 203 — Appointment of conservator

(a) Appointment — The Comptroller of the Currency can appoint a conservator — possibly the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — to take control of a bank. The Comptroller doesn't need to give notice or hold a hearing first. This can happen whenever the Comptroller decides that one or more grounds listed in section 11(c)(5) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act exist. (b) Judicial review — (1) In general: Within 20 days after a conservator is first appointed, the bank can sue in federal court — either where the bank's home office is, or in Washington, D.C. — asking the court to order the Comptroller to end the conservatorship. The court will either dismiss the case or order the Comptroller to end it. The court can only overturn the Comptroller's decision if it finds the decision was "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law" — meaning it was unreasonable or broke the law. (2) Stay: The conservator can ask a court to pause — "stay" — any lawsuit involving the conservator or the bank, for up to 45 days after the appointment. If asked, the court must grant that pause for everyone involved. (3) Actions and orders: Except as this subsection allows, no court can remove a conservator or block the conservator's powers. But if the Comptroller asks, a court can enforce the Comptroller's orders about (A) the conservatorship and the bank, or (B) restraining or affecting what the conservator does. (c) Additional grounds for appointment — The Comptroller can also appoint a conservator if either: (1) a majority of the bank's board of directors or shareholders votes to agree to it, or (2) the FDIC ends the bank's status as an insured bank. If a conservator is appointed this way, that decision cannot be reviewed by a court. (d) Exclusive authority — Only the Comptroller has the power to appoint a bank's conservator. When the Comptroller appoints a conservator, the Comptroller may pick the FDIC for the job. As conservator, the FDIC gets every power the Federal Deposit Insurance Act gives it, plus any other rights other laws give conservators, as long as those don't conflict. The Comptroller may also appoint someone else as conservator, who must then follow the rules of this Act. (e) Replacement of conservator — The Comptroller can swap out a conservator for a different one at any time, without notice or a hearing. Doing this doesn't take away the bank's right, under subsection (b), to still get judicial review of the Comptroller's original decision to appoint a conservator.