FDIC Auctions $610.5 Million in Loans From Failed U.S. Lenders

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is seeking bids for $610.5 million of unpaid loans it’s holding from failed U.S. lenders including IndyMac Bank, Silverton Bank and New Frontier Bank.

The loans are backed in part by land, developed lots and condominium construction projects, said Peter Tobin, managing director of New York-based Mission Capital Advisors LLC, the FDIC’s marketing agent and financial adviser for the offering. Most of the properties are in Colorado, California, Utah and Idaho, and about 78 percent of the debt is 90 days or more past due, according to a description on Mission Capital’s Web site.

The FDIC is disposing of real estate, soured mortgages and personal property ranging from tour buses to palm trees that once belonged to failed banks. More than 160 lenders collapsed since the start of 2009, and the tally may grow this year, with 702 firms on the FDIC’s “problem bank” list as of Dec. 31.

The sale ”is going to appeal to a broader investor class,” Tobin said. The winning bidder will take an interest in a limited liability company owning the assets in partnership with the FDIC. The auction may attract more bidders than previous sales because the portfolio is smaller, Tobin said.

The biggest piece of the package is from New Frontier, the Greeley, Colorado-based lender that failed in April. The portfolio lists $220.2 million in Frontier debt from 187 loans, with 91 percent at least 90 days overdue.

Silverton, IndyMac

The second-biggest component is from Silverton, the Atlanta-based lender that serviced about 1,400 banks in 44 states until it failed in May. The offering includes 23 Silverton loans showing balances of $85.3 million, with 81 percent behind by 90 days or more.

IndyMac’s share of the FDIC offering is a single overdue loan of $48,000, according to Mission Capital’s listing. Regulators seized Pasadena, California-based IndyMac in July 2008.

Bids for the latest FDIC auction are due April 6, Mission Capital said. David Barr, an FDIC spokesman, declined to comment.

The planned sale was reported earlier by Commercial Real Estate Direct on its Web site.

--With assistance from Jonathan Keehner and Jody Shenn in New York. Editors: Sharon L. Lynch, Rick Green