Small banks hurt by housing bust
TEXT OF STORY
We’ve heard so much about stress test this and stress test that concerning the nation’s 19 biggest banks. But what about the smaller guys? And by smaller, I mean those that are just a hair short of really, really big. Those regional banks — many of which are in Florida — have seen their capital wiped out by a Sunshine State housing bust. From Miami, Marketplace’s Dan Grech reports.
DAN GRECH: Foreclosures and falling house prices have already driven a slew of construction firms in Florida out of business. Florida banks could be next.
Jack McCabe runs McCabe Research, a company that tracks the South Florida lending market. He says Florida could face a dozen regional bank failures in the second half of the year.
JACK MCCABE: If you look at the banks with the largest real estate exposures in their portfolios, that’s where the trouble lies.
Florida banks on average have double the level of bad loans compared to banks nationwide. It’s second to only Georgia in the number of troubled banks.
BankUnited is Florida’s biggest bank, with $14 billion dollars in assets. But its capital is wiped out by real estate losses. It’s under orders from the feds to find a buyer or merge.
In Miami, I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
