Amicus Brief: AIG v. Bank of America Corp.

This is an amicus brief filed by SIFMA (and the New York and California bankers associations) on behalf of Bank of America in AIG v. Bank of America, currently on appeal in the 2nd Circuit. AIG had filed suit against Bank of America in state court alleging fraud in connection with sales of residential mortgage-backed securities; Bank of America successfully removed the case to federal court, where AIG's motion to remand was denied. SIFMA argues that the lower court correctly held that the action was removable pursuant to Section 632 of the Edge Act, which provides for federal jurisdiction so long as: (i) the action is civil in nature, (ii) a national bank is a party, and (iii) it arises out of transactions involving banking in United States territories. SIFMA cites prior case law and argues that a narrow construction of Section 632 would harm banks' ability to effectively compete for business, as it would lead to a more costly determination of jurisdiction. SIFMA further argues in favor of federal jurisdiction by noting that federal courts apply the same procedural rules, allow overlapping actions to be consolidated before a single judge for coordinated pretrial purposes, and are better equipped to handle the "global" nature of modern banking.

View amicus brief here(links externally to SIFMA website).