The trust will fund environmental efforts in impacted U.S. states and federally-recognized Native American nations
WILMINGTON, DEL—Wilmington Trust, N.A. has been appointed trustee for the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust. The $2.7 billion trust, established as part of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions settlement, will be used to implement approved air pollution mitigation initiatives in U.S. states and federally-recognized Native American nations.Wilmington Trust was selected as trustee because of its extensive experience providing trust, custody, escrow, and investment management services to public entities, including state governments and Native American tribes. An additional qualification was the company’s significant experience as a trustee for environmental mitigation trusts.
The trustee was chosen by a committee representing the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. states, territories, and Native American nations, and was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Wilmington Trust chaired the unsecured creditors’ committee for both the General Motors Corporation and Lehman Brothers bankruptcy cases. The company also served as trustee for the Greece debt restructuring program. Additionally, Wilmington Trust served on the unsecured creditors’ committee in the Washington Mutual, Inc., WorldCom, General Growth Properties, and Tribune Company bankruptcies, among others.
“We are honored to be selected to administer the environmental mitigation trust,” said Jack Beeson, head of Global Capital Markets at Wilmington Trust. “We’ve carefully built our corporate trust business over the decades by acting as an impartial and collaborative trustee, and serving in non-creditor roles in transactions. We look forward to bringing our high level of professionalism and service to this important role.”
Wilmington Trust will work with the various parties to finalize the trust agreement, which will require approval by the court.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Native American nations are potential beneficiaries of the trust. For more information about the Volkswagen Clean Air Civil Settlement and the application process, the EPA created an information website with FAQs, helpful links, and updates: www.epa.gov/enforcement/volkswagen-clean-air-act-civil-settlement.
