By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday dismissed alawsuit by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation againstbanks including Deutsche Bank AG and Credit SuisseGroup AG over mortgage-backed securities sold beforethe 2008 financial crisis.
U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in New York found theFDIC's case, brought in its capacity as receiver for an Alabamabank, was filed too late, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Courtdecision.
A statute relied on by the banking regulator to bring thisand similar cases on behalf of banks it seized "did not give theFDIC more time to bring claims that would otherwise have beenlost," Stanton wrote.
The ruling conflicted with a decision days earlier fromanother judge in the same court who is presiding over similarmortgage cases brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Itcould prompt a closely watched appeal if the FDIC seeks torevive the case.
Other banks impacted by the ruling include Wells Fargo & Co, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and HSBCHoldings Plc.
A spokesman for the FDIC declined comment. Representativesfor the banks either declined comment or did not immediatelyrespond to requests for comment.
The FDIC filed the lawsuit in 2012, accusing the banks ofviolating federal securities laws in connection with mortgagebonds they issued or underwrote that were then bought for $388million by Colonial Bank, an Alabama lender that failed in 2009.
Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup settled with the FDIC as part ofmultibillion-dollar global deals negotiated by the U.S.Department of Justice.
The remaining banks sought dismissal of the case after theSupreme Court in June issued a decision in an environmentalcase, CTS v. Waldburger, that raised similar questions about thetiming of lawsuits.
The FDIC argued that a provision in the FinancialInstitutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA)extended the period of time in which it could bring a case onbehalf of a bank it seized.
The issue of whether U.S. regulators suing banks overmortgage securities issued before the financial crisis canpursue cases under such so-called extender statutes has dividedcourts following the Supreme Court ruling.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New Yorkfound that a similar statute allowed the FHFA to pursue twomortgage-backed securities lawsuits primarily targeting HSBC andNomura Holdings Inc.
Her ruling followed an Aug. 19 decision from the 10th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver finding that FIRREA allowedthe National Credit Union Administration to pursue cases againstbanks including RBS, Nomura and Wells Fargo.
The FDIC, meanwhile, saw two other lawsuits against banksincluding Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America'sMerrill Lynch dismissed last month by a federal judge in Texaswho said they were too late.
The case is Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v. ChaseMortgage Finance Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District ofNew York, No. 12-061666. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by NoeleenWalder and Leslie Adler)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)