DALLAS -- A former banker and major player in the 1980s Texas real estate boom has agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle a claim by the Resolution Trust Corp., which paid $364 million to depositors in his defunct bank.
Craig Hall, founder of Dallas-based Hall Financial Group and onetime owner of Resource Savings Association of Denison, was the subject of a years-long investigation and dispute over his vast real estate holdings.
The RTC's claims, believed to total about $348 million, would be settled by Hall's payment of $102.5 million.
Stephen Katsolis, an RTC spokesman in Washington, said, 'This is probably the best obtainable settlement. It's more beneficial to the taxpayer than costly and protracted litigation.'
Hall said he would pay the claim by borrowing money and selling assets.
In 1985, Hall was one of the largest syndicators of real estate partnerships in the United States. His company controlled more than 55, 000 apartments plus a real estate portfolio valued at more than $2.5 billion.
He also wrote two books on real estate management and promotion.
The land and real estate bust of the late 1980s took its toll on Hall as he was unable to meet his heavy debt. He filed for personal bankruptcy on April 3, 1992.
The day before he filed his bankruptcy papers, the RTC sued him and seven associates, charging improper loan practices at Resource Savings.
When the Denison savings and loan was declared insolvent and closed by regulators in 1990, the RTC paid $364 million to people whose deposits were federally insured.
Hall said, 'We worked for a long time to come to a point where we came to an agreement that hopefully is in everyone's best interest.'
Hall must pay the RTC $95.5 million in cash by Aug. 5 and his personal bankruptcy estate must pay $7 million in cash to the federal agency.
