A federal judge has refused to vacate an arbitrator’s award despite a bank’s argument that it amounted to an illegal “golden parachute” that violates the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

In his 13-page opinion in Royal Bank America v. Kirkpatrick , U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage concluded that the bank’s assertion of a defense under TARP was not enough to confer federal jurisdiction under the Federal Arbitration Act.