“Washington Mutual Bank epitomizes everything that went wrong with the banking industry and contributed to the financial crisis, so the F.D.I.C. was right to go after the bank’s leadership,” Mr. Levin said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Former WaMu executives Killinger, Rotella and Schneider are truly the 1 percent: they got bonus upon bonus when the bank did well, but when they led the bank to collapse, insurance and indemnity clauses shielded them from paying any penalty for their wrongdoing.”

Officials at the F.D.I.C. said they were pleased with the settlement and that it maximized its recoveries. The $64.7 million will be combined with $125 million that WaMu’s holding company agreed to relinquish to the regulator.

Although the settlement probably disappoints anyone hoping executives might be held personally accountable, it does illustrate what regulators are up against when litigating these matters.

For starters, the F.D.I.C. faced a time constraint. The insurance policies being tapped by the regulator were declining steadily in value as others making claims against the bank were paid.

The F.D.I.C. also had to confront the circular nature of the continuing WaMu bankruptcy and the claims being made against the institution. If the regulator had asked for higher payments from the former executives, the men could have turned around and requested that the bankrupt company pay the amounts under its indemnification policies. If the company did have to cover the F.D.I.C.’s requests, it could reduce the $125 million that WaMu has agreed to give the regulator.

Given these risks and the costs of continuing litigation, the F.D.I.C. said, it made sense to complete the $64.7 million deal.

Lawyers representing Mr. Killinger and Mr. Schneider did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Rotella issued this statement through a spokesman: “I believe the facts clearly demonstrate that during my brief tenure at WaMu, my efforts substantially reduced risk and addressed highly challenging business problems that predated my arrival. I continue to strongly dispute the F.D.I.C.’s allegations and regret that we did not have more time to finish restructuring WaMu successfully.”