Five banking trade groups are supporting Spencer Savings Bank of Elmwood Park, N.J., in its battle against the well-known activist investor Lawrence B. Seidman.
The American Bankers Association said in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that the $1.8 billion-asset thrift needs a "remedy" to stop Mr. Seidman from trying to force it to go public. The North Carolina Bankers Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and the Wisconsin Bankers Association joined in the brief.
Spencer sued Mr. Seidman last spring, accusing him of violating a federal law that prohibits outsiders from gaining control of a mutual savings institution. It is believed to be the first case of a thrift suing a depositor on such grounds.
Spencer is asking the appeals court to review a dismissal of the case by the federal district court in New Jersey. That court ruled in January that Spencer did not have the standing to enforce the federal statute.
