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Colonial BancGroup seeks bankruptcy protection amid Florida mortgage loss

Colonial BancGroup Inc, whose banking unit was shut down by the government and sold to BB&T Corp earlier this month, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The the Montgomery-based real estate lender listed debts of US$380 million and assets of just US$45 million in its filing on Tuesday in US Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Alabama. A list of creditors holding the 20 largest unsecured claims shows that Bank of New York Trust Co has a US$253.7 million claim and Bank of New York Trust Co of Florida, a US$104.1 million claim.

With about US$25 billion in deposits, Colonial Bank represents the largest US bank failure so far this year, and the sixth-largest in US history. The FDIC sold most of its deposits, 346 branches in five states and about US$22 billion in assets to BB&T.

Colonial Bank’s collapse is expected to cost the insurance fund US$2.8 billion.

Colonial BancGroup remains under criminal investigation by the US Justice Department over alleged accounting irregularities at its mortgage warehouse lending unit in Orlando, Florida. It also was the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation related to its bid for federal bailout funds and its accounting for loan loss reserves.

The company posted losses for several straight quarters, as it wrote off millions in residential construction and mortgage loans, most tied to hard-hit markets in Florida. Delinquencies on commercial real estate loans remain a hot spot of potential trouble for many regional banks, as many companies have shut down in the recession, vacating shopping malls and office buildings financed by the loans.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp, one of the US’ biggest independent mortgage bankers, said on Monday it filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of Colonial Bank’s failure. Colonial had been Taylor Bean’s primary bank.
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