Mark Walter is the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, the majority owner and chairman of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and owns 12.7% of BlueCo, the holding company that manages Premier League club Chelsea, on the field after the FIFA Club World Cup finals against Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Two banks have suspended sales of Mark Walter’s Delaware Life Insurance Company products due to concerns about a federal investigation into how the parent company reported nearly $20 billion in assets related to other entities controlled by the billionaire Los Angeles Dodgers owner, CNBC has confirmed.
Pause by the bank, Trust Financial Corporation and fifth third bancorpThe revelations came Friday, two days after Walter’s holding company TWG Global issued a statement saying there was “no wrongdoing” at Delaware Life and its affiliate Clear Spring Life & Annuity.
Bloomberg first reported the suspension. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the bank’s suspension to CNBC on condition of anonymity because it has not been announced.
Delaware Life continues to meet with both banks to support existing contracts and discuss developments in the insurance sector, the person said. Delaware Life also keeps banks apprised of its efforts to reduce asset levels at affiliated companies, the person said.
Trust has a long-standing business relationship with Delaware Life. Fifth Third only began doing business with insurance companies in April, according to people familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for Delaware Life told CNBC that “communications with our key distribution partners remain open and collaborative.”
Fifth Third declined to comment. Trust did not respond to a request for comment.
Delaware Life said in a regulatory filing that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Delaware Life and Clearspring.
Last September, news outlets reported that FBI agents seized Walter’s cellphone and computer pursuant to a warrant executed on a private plane in Chicago as part of an investigation into his business.
Both Delaware Life and Clearspring received grand jury subpoenas in February in connection with the investigation, Delaware Life said in a regulatory filing.
In a review of its affiliate and related party disclosures conducted after receipt of the subpoena, Delaware Life revised the percentage of its total invested assets classified as affiliates of other Walter companies from 3% to 42%.
The investigation gained widespread attention after Walter agreed to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month, less than a year after buying the team.
