Banc of California partially recoups funds from '19 chargeoff

Banc of California in Santa Ana is set to receive a large payment that partially addressed a chargeoff it recorded in 2019. 

The $9.4 billion-asset company said in a regulatory filing Monday that it should receive $31.3 million tied to a settlement with Chicago Title Insurance and Chicago Title. The bank agreed to release the entities from all claims tied to the loan.

The bank was one of several companies that accused the title companies of assisting with a $300 million alcohol-license borrowing scheme. 

Banc of California, during the third quarter of 2019, charged off $35.1 million of a line of credit to a borrower who was "purportedly the subject of a fraudulent scheme," the filing said.

The bank filed a lawsuit on Oct. 22, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Chicago Title Insurance and Chicago Title, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence, among other things. 

The case was refiled on Oct. 1, 2020, with the Superior Court of the State of California.