Question · Q1 2024
Inquired about the potential magnitude of future legal costs related to the Department of Justice, the conservative level of loan loss reserves and why a release wasn't made, and the bank's future business plan for deploying its excess capital and reserves.
Answer
The executive explained that any future DOJ-related legal costs are hard to predict but are expected to be immaterial and would be for individuals, not the bank. The conservative reserve level is maintained due to broad uncertainty in the market, particularly in commercial real estate, though it might be reduced in future quarters. The bank is struggling to define a new business plan, as its previous monoline business is gone, and building a new business line would require significant investment and a long start-up period.