New York sues FDIC over $44M in unpaid taxes by failed Signature Bank

New York City sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in its capacity as receiver for the failed Signature Bank, saying the U.S. regulator owes about $44 million in unpaid municipal taxes.

The city’s department of finance audited Signature after the bank shuttered in March and found tax deficiencies for years 2015 through 2021 related to unreported income allocation and adjustments to investment and capital income, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan.

Earlier this month, New York filed a similar suit against the FDIC seeking more than $2.1 million in back taxes from another collapsed lender, Silicon Valley Bank, which failed just days before Signature in March 2023.

The city finance department said it sued because the FDIC had rejected New York’s request in July for payment of back taxes.

The FDIC declined to comment on the suit. 

The FDIC has been under pressure following recent claims of a problematic “boys club” culture at the agency. The regulator subsequently set up a special panel to oversee an independent, third-party review of the FDIC’s workplace culture.

The case is NY v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 24-cv-00629, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).