Judge won’t block $18M settlement for SC bank CEO

A judge has refused to immediatly block payments for an $18 million settlement for the former CEO of South Carolina’s largest publicly traded bank, but also did not toss out a shareholder’s lawsuit over the agreement.

Circuit Judge John Few said Tuesday he will decide later whether Vernon Mercier’s lawsuit over the settlement given to former The South Financial Group CEO Mack Whittle can continue.
   
The lawsuit says the company moved up the date of Whittle’s retirement so it could pay him $18 million and also ask for federal bailout money.
   
The bank has received nearly $350 million from the federal government.
   
Whittle’s lawyer says the accusations are false and the bank is paying Whittle what he was due in his contract.