P. M. BRIEFING : Drexel Named in $516-Million Lawsuit by FDIC on Dallas S

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency that insures deposits at commercial banks, said today that it brought a $516-million lawsuit against Drexel Burnham Lambert, E. F. Hutton and others related to the failure of a Texas bank.

The suit stems from an alleged fraud scheme that the FDIC claims led to the demise of the Guaranty Federal Savings & Loan Assn. in Dallas, the sixth-largest thrift in Texas.

Drexel, the once-powerful brokerage and investment bank whose parent company filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, was a major underwriter of junk bonds.

Financially troubled E. F. Hutton was acquired in early 1988 by Shearson Lehman. Shearson also is named in the suit, the FDIC said.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas, seeks $129.2 million in actual damages and $387.6 million in punitive damages from Drexel, Hutton, Shearson and others.