D’Oench Duhme Doctrine

The D’Oench Duhme Doctrine is a common law doctrine, which means it’s not technically a written-down law, but instead a precedent set by courts. The D’Oench Duhme doctrine was created when the U.S. Supreme Court settled a case in 1942, ruling that banks aren’t allowed to make shady secret deals behind the backs of bank regulators like the FDIC.

More specifically, the D’Oench Duhme doctrine is a common law that says agreements between banks and borrowers that aren’t in writing don’t count if the banks later fail, and the government is trying to collect a loan from them. If the banks want their contracts to be enforced when the FDIC comes knocking, everything had better be in writing. Make sure it’s legible, too.