Spiegel Group said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with banking regulators that calls for its bank to comply with certain requirements for capital, growth, product offerings and transactions with affiliates. The agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency requires Spiegel to restrict credit to certain customers and obtain a $198 million guarantee. That guarantee has been provided by Spiegel’s majority shareholders, the Otto family of Germany.
Also, Spiegel must provide the OCC with details of a plan to sell or dispose of the bank. The Downers Grove-based parent of Eddie Bauer and the Spiegel Catalog already has announced its intention to sell the bank, which issues credit to Spiegel shoppers through credit cards.
Separately, Spiegel dropped litigation against MBIA Insurance Corp., which had declared a “payout event” for two asset-backed securities issues originated by Spiegel’s bank.
