Florida Bank Failures Foreshadowed By FDIC

Federal regulators are staffing up, leasing office space, and creating a management structure in preparation to seize an undisclosed number of struggling banks in Florida and the Southeastern United States.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees deposits of $250,000 at the nation's banks, plans to open a satellite office to be used by up to 500 people in the northeast Florida city of Jacksonville to spearhead the imminent seizures and eventual asset sales.

"The FDIC, which prides itself on predictability and consistency, is sending a strong message to the banking industry that the day of reckoning is almost at hand," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "Industry watchers have been expecting this moment as Florida - considered by many to be the epicenter of the U.S. housing crash - has had few bank failures to date."

Regulators have shut 57 banks since January 2008 with an estimated loss to the FDIC of $15.5 billion. Only four of the failed banks were headquartered in Florida - none in South Florida - compared to 11 seizures in Georgia and nine in California. A Florida credit unit has also closed by regulators.

The FDIC's bank seizure and asset sales office is scheduled to open in September with a combination of employees and subcontractors to oversee the process.

"Throughout its history, the FDIC has used these offices to keep temporary asset resolution staff closer to the concentration of failed bank assets they oversee," according to an FDIC statement. "As the work diminishes, the temporary satellite offices are closed."

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports. Looking for a property at a deep discount? You are encouraged to take a peek at the Vultures Database™. Our new books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™ and Miami's Great Condo Crash: A Chronicle of the Boom and Bust™ are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.

Copyright © 2009, Condo Vultures® LLC