BANKING & FINANCE - Sept. 15, 1992

Payout in Keating Case: A federal judge in Tucson approved an initial payout of $70 million to small investors in the civil securities fraud and racketeering case against Charles H. Keating Jr., his aides and professional advisers. Small investors can expect to begin receiving payments within a month, said lawyer Ronald Rus of Orange. The payouts to small investors in Keating’s bankrupt American Continental Corp. and their attorneys come from the first batch of settlement money gathered by the lawyers. The lawyers won jury awards in July totaling $4.4 billion against Keating and three other defendants, but it is unlikely much of that money will ever be collected. Keating is broke, two other defendants are bankrupt and the fourth is an offshore company.