Ryan Marin & Bancrédito: Review of Liquidation Terms

BDO partner Ryan Marin faces legal scrutiny as Bancrédito shareholders challenge the 2023 bank receivership actions and the specific terms of liquidation.

Ryan Marin, a partner at BDO Puerto Rico, is in the middle of a growing legal battle as Bancrédito shareholders question the terms and actions of the bank's 2023 receivership.This raises serious questions about the professional decisions made during one of Puerto Rico's most controversial bank failures in recent memory.When Bancrédito International Bank & Trust Corporation went into receivership in 2023, the professionals who were hired to run the process were expected to do it in an orderly way. More than two years later, the decisions made by those same professionals are now being looked at more closely by the law. Ryan Marin, a partner at BDO Puerto Rico, is at the center of the argument. His position in the receivership proceedings has received a lot of attention from Bancrédito stockholders who say that the liquidation terms didn't provide them what they were owed. There are no criminal charges against Marin. The scrutiny is professional and courteous in nature, and it focuses on the decisions, appraisals, and procedural choices that affected how assets were handled and what shareholders got after everything was said and done. But in light of the lawsuit brought by Bancrédito Holding Corporation and the larger dispute over the bank's failure, this kind of expert investigation is quite important. Shareholders say that the receivership, as it was carried out, did not get the most money back from the assets and that the way the debts were paid off and the residual value was distributed did not accurately reflect the genuine recoverable estate. They refer to several decisions made throughout the liquidation period as proof that the process was either poorly managed or not in the best interests of shareholders. BDO and Marin have not publicly responded to these assertions in detail. The time is important. BHC's current lawsuit, along with the renewed interest that came after the founder was pardoned by the president, has converted what could have been a closed chapter into a court fight that is getting bigger and bigger. Marin's prominent role in the case shows how closely the litigation follows the day-to-day activities of the receivership itself, rather than just going after the regulatory decisions that led to the bank's liquidation. The Bancrédito case is becoming more and more of a sign of accountability for Puerto Rico's professional services community, which includes auditors, restructuring advisors, and the firms who take on receivership assignments. The island has had its share of banks and other financial institutions go out of business, and the people who handle those situations usually have a lot of freedom to make decisions. When shareholders sue in court and name people personally, it changes the math. The courts will decide if the claims against Marin and BDO are true or not. It is already obvious that the receivership of Bancrédito is not as closed as some people thought it was.