Capmark Financial Group reached a settlement with its former head honcho over the nearly $17 million he received when he left the commercial real estate lender the year before its bankruptcy, but one key detail is under wraps — how much the individual will pay, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The proposed settlement would end Capmark’s effort to claw back the $16.7 million paid to former Chief Executive William F. Aldinger III and a family trust on his way out the door. Mr. Aldinger, who is also a former chairman and chief executive officer of HSBC Finance Corp., left Capmark in December 2008. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2009, joining a long list of real-estate lenders toppled by the global financial crisis. However, the deal aims to keep secret the amount of money Aldinger will return to Capmark to settle the litigation. To explain why it’s necessary to hide the amount, Capmark noted that Aldinger is retired and doesn’t need the publicity that will certainly attend the news of the settlement.
