BANKING

U.S. Sues Financier for $250 Million: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. named Charles Hurwitz, former chairman and chief executive of United Savings Assn. of Texas’ parent company, in a $250-million lawsuit alleging that his risky deals at the thrift masked its deepening financial problems and caused massive losses. Hurwitz is now chairman and chief executive of Maxxam, a Houston-based aluminum, forest products and real estate company. Environmental groups want the government to seize the 3,000-acre Headwaters Forest in Northern California’s Humboldt County, owned by Hurwitz’s Pacific Lumber Co., in partial compensation for the government’s $1.5-billion loss in the thrift’s failure. Hurwitz’s lawyer said the civil lawsuit is “without merit.”