RANDALL CHASE
Associated Press

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A former Wilmington Trust official indicted on fraud and other charges has decided to plead guilty.

A judge this week scheduled a Nov. 13 change of plea hearing for Peter W. Hayes.

The 48-year-old Hayes initially pleaded not guilty after being indicted in July on charges of bank fraud, bank bribery and fraudulently benefiting in loan transactions. The indictment alleged that Hayes, a former commercial real estate lender, engaged in several fraudulent and improper transactions with Anderson Homes, a well-known Delaware homebuilder.

Hayes is one of several former Wilmington Trust officials who have been charged with crimes in an ongoing federal investigation of the bank’s lending practices. The 107-year-old institution was sold to M&T Bank in 2010 after its deteriorating commercial loan portfolio left it on the verge of collapse.

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