Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, has announced that the full Committee will resume its hearing on the recent failure of Superior Bank, FSB, Hinsdale, Illinois. The institution, which was placed in receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on July 27, 2001, had assets of over $2 billion. Reports have suggested that the loss to the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) could be over $500 million, or 25% of the savings institution's assets. The hearing will focus on what went wrong at Superior Bank and what steps can be taken to possibly avoid future failures.

The hearing began on September 11 but was recessed as a result of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

The hearing will resume:

Scheduled to testify are:

• The Honorable Ellen Seidman, Director, Office of Thrift Supervision;
• The Honorable John Reich, Director, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
• Mr. Bert Ely, President, Ely & Company;
• Dr. George G. Kaufman, John F. Smith Professor of Business Administration, Loyola College, Chicago; and
• Ms. Karen Shaw Petrou, Managing Partner, Federal Financial Analytics.

###