Related Content

• South Florida projects financed by Corus Bankshares

Corus Bankshares' failure may lubricate South Florida's condo market

Following the failure of Chicago's Corus Bankshares and its seizure by federal regulators, speculation Monday focused on the fate of the lender's $4 billion in commercial loans, a good quarter of them secured by condominium projects in South Florida.

FDIC spokeswoman LaJuan Williams-Dickerson said regulators would begin marketing the assets to potential buyers for a private placement transaction that is expected to be completed in about 30 days. She could not say whether the assets would be sold to a single buyer or in loan pools.

Corus was one of the largest condominium construction lenders in South Florida during the real estate boom, financing 34 projects in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. It held more than $1 billion in South Florida loans at the time of its Friday seizure, most of which were nonperforming.

FDIC pitching Corus deal

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is still considering bids for a stake in the more than $4 billion loan portfolio of Corus Bank -- the behemoth Chicago-based condo lender that was seized last month by federal regulators.

Whoever buys into the deal, which includes thousands of unsold luxury condos in South Florida, will be sharing future profits with the FDIC, an agency spokesman said Thursday.

Corus was the third-largest condo construction lender in the region during the real estate boom, financing more than 34 projects in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. It has about $1 billion in outstanding loans in the region, and most are nonperforming.

Soured loans on South Florida condos sinking Corus Bankshares

Heavy with $182 million in construction loans, the long-awaited Trump International Hotel and Tower, a luxury hotel condominium in Fort Lauderdale beach, stands furnished, but empty, with not a single tenant inside.

One of 34 South Florida projects financed by Corus Bankshares, a lender based in Chicago, the 24-story, 298-unit oceanfront hotel condo had deposits on 70 percent of its units, but after the bust of the real estate market, the buyers either walked away or filed lawsuits against the building that has yet to open.

Close to foreclosure, the structure is part of Corus Bank's deeply troubled loan portfolio, which as of May 31 includes 14 outstanding condo loans in South Florida, of which 12 are over 90 days past due. At almost $1 billion, these South Florida construction loans form half of the $2 billion nonperforming loans across the United States that led Corus to warn last month that it may fail.

Miami Dolphins owner Ross approved for bank; may bid on Corus assets

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has won permission to form a bank that may help him bid for assets of troubled condo lender Corus Bankshares, which was seized by federal regulators on Friday, according to recently released documents.

The documents say Adolfo Henriques, a longtime Miami banking executive, would be CEO of SJB National Bank. The bank's name is an apparent nod to the first initials of Ross and his two partners in the venture: Jeff Blau and Bruce Beal Jr.

But Henriques said Friday he did not think Ross would actually create SJB since bank regulators have decided to split Corus' assets into deposits and real estate holdings. That would let a real estate investor like Ross pursue the condo towers in the Corus portfolio without having to form a bank in order to take on the deposits and checking accounts, too.

Dolphins owner may form bank to pursue condo lender

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has won permission to form a bank that may help him bid for assets of troubled condo lender Corus Bankshares, which was seized by federal regulators Friday, according to recently released documents.

The documents say Adolfo Henriques, a longtime Miami banking executive, would be CEO of SJB National Bank. The bank's name is an apparent nod to the first initials of Ross and his two partners in the venture: Jeff Blau and Bruce Beal Jr.

But Henriques said Friday he did not think Ross would actually create SJB because bank regulators have decided to split Corus' assets into deposits and real estate holdings. That would let a real estate investor like Ross pursue the condo towers in the Corus portfolio without having to form a bank in order to take on deposits and checking accounts, too.