Banco Santander agrees to pay $235 to settle claims with Madoff trustee

In order to avoid a lawsuit, Banco Santander SA (STD), which ran one of the largest feeder funds for Bernie Madoff investors, agreed to pay $235 million to avoid a lawsuit by Madoff trustee Irving Picard, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. If the court agrees to the settlement, which is about 85 percent of what Picard intended to seek, this would be the first time a feeder fund agreed to make payments to the trustee.

This settlement would also increase the amount Picard has recovered for distribution to investors to a total of $1.2 billion. Most of the other funds recovered so far have come from Madoff 's business and personal assets.