News
BANK ON IT?
June 17, 2010
| As FDIC-closed banks are being absorbed by various means, their real estate portfolios are starting to come to market, Howard & Howard managing partner Ted Eissfeldt tells us. | |
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| Doesn't their office does a great impression of a '80's station wagon? (Okay, we know that's probably real bird's eye maple or something equally exotic.) H&H moved into its 200 S. Michigan office eight months after merging with DuFrees & Fiske. The Michigan-based firm now has over 100 bank clients in Illinois. Ted, above with Joe Hemker, anticipates about 30 more banks in Illinois will close before the recession ends in a year to two. Their colleague Scott Frost(below) has been handling workouts for several major banks including Harris Bank, Wintrust, Associated Bank, and First Bank. One of his current projects involves a portfolio of seven sports bars for which he restructured the loans and leases to prevent vacancy after one of the leases defaulted. | |
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| A pic of Scott, as promised. Ted says that since the failed banks in Illinois have been acquired by other banks, it will be hard for lending to start up again before the ORE assets are absorbed. Of 34 failed Illinois banks over the last three years, 31 were part of a purchase and assumption, according to the FDIC website. Howard & Howard has represented three failed banks so far. The firm's goal is to grow its Chicago office to 50 lawyers in the next few years, and possibly expand geographically. | |
