12 U.S.C. § 205 — Termination of conservatorship

(a) General rule Whenever the Comptroller becomes confident that it's safe and in the public interest, the Comptroller can — with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Board of Directors agreeing, if the FDIC was appointed conservator — do one of two things. First, end the conservatorship and let the bank resume normal business, subject to any terms, conditions, and limits the Comptroller sets. Second, end the conservatorship by way of a sale, merger, consolidation, purchase and assumption, change in control, or voluntary dissolution and liquidation of the bank. (b) Other grounds for termination The Comptroller can also end a conservatorship when a receiver gets appointed under section 191 of this title. (c) Enforcement under Federal Deposit Insurance Act Any terms, conditions, or limits the Comptroller sets under subsection (a)(1) can be enforced the same way as a final order issued under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, section 8(b). The bank can go to federal district court — either where its home office is, or in Washington, D.C. — and ask a judge to order the Comptroller to end that order. The bank must file for this kind of judicial review within 20 days of whichever happens later: the conservatorship ending, or the order being imposed. (d) Action upon termination (1) When a conservatorship ends under subsection (a)(2) — the sale/merger/liquidation path — the conservator (usually the FDIC, or whoever else was appointed) must wrap up the conservatorship's affairs following the steps in paragraph (2). (2) Within 180 days of the sale, merger, consolidation, purchase and assumption, or liquidation, the conservator must deposit all net proceeds — after subtracting the conservatorship's remaining expenses — with the federal district court covering the bank's home office. The conservator must publish notice for three straight months and mail notice to all known creditors and shareholders. Within 60 days after that, any depositor, creditor, other claimant, or shareholder can file an interpleader lawsuit in that court to claim a share of the proceeds. The district court must distribute the money fairly among the claimants. If nobody files such a lawsuit within one year of the money being deposited, the leftover money reverts to the United States, and the court must send it to the U.S. Treasury. Once the conservator deposits the proceeds and sends the required notices, its responsibilities as conservator are considered fully discharged.