Which U.S. company was at the center of the 1980s savings-and-loan scandal involving Charles Keating?

Lincoln Savings and Loan Association was the U.S. company at the center of the 1980s scandal involving Charles Keating.

Keating led Lincoln Savings and Loan, which sold high-risk securities to customers who believed their money had federal insurance. The institution invested heavily in speculative real-estate projects and complex securities rather than keeping its activities within safer traditional savings-and-loan practices.

When Lincoln failed in 1989, thousands of investors lost money. The collapse cost the federal government more than $3 billion through the savings-and-loan resolution system. Keating had also contacted five U.S. senators for help with regulators; those lawmakers became known as the “Keating Five.”

The scandal became a prominent example of regulatory capture and political influence during the savings-and-loan crisis. Keating was convicted of fraud and other offenses, although parts of his criminal case were later overturned. The institution is distinct from Silverado, another failed savings-and-loan involved in the same broader crisis.