No claim or action seeking to recover money damages shall be brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, or any other federal banking regulatory agency against any director or officer, including any former director or officer, of any insured financial depository institution as defined in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 unless such claim or action arises out of the gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct of such director or officer during his or her term of office with such insured financial depository institution.
§ 25-21,240.Claim or action for money damages; limitation.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section shields a bank director or officer, including a former one, from money-damages lawsuits brought by the FDIC, the Resolution Trust Corporation, or another federal banking regulator, unless the claim arises from gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct committed while that person held office.
Full Text of § 25-21,240
Source
Laws 1993, LB 253, § 1.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,240 sets a heightened standard before a federal banking regulator can go after a bank’s leadership for money damages. It bars claims or actions seeking money damages, brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, or any other federal banking regulatory agency, against a director or officer, current or former, of an insured financial depository institution as that term is defined under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.
The bar lifts only when the claim arises out of gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct by the director or officer during that person’s term of office. Ordinary negligence, or conduct falling short of that heightened standard, will not support the claim under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does this section protect?
Directors and officers, including former ones, of an insured financial depository institution as defined under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.
Which agencies does this section limit from suing?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, and any other federal banking regulatory agency.
What must the regulator show to sue anyway?
That the claim arises out of gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct by the director or officer during his or her term of office.
Does this section block every type of lawsuit against a bank officer?
No. It limits claims or actions seeking money damages brought by these federal regulators, not claims generally or claims by other parties.
Why does a Nebraska statute reference federal banking law?
Because it borrows the definition of “insured financial depository institution” from the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to identify which institutions and officers the protection covers.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: nebraska bank director liability protectionfdic lawsuit against bank officer nebraskagross negligence standard bank directorresolution trust corporation lawsuit limitationinsured depository institution officer liability