Bedrock Bank’s new president was determined to turn his bank into the region’s biggest
lender. Bedrock’s loan officers got the message and started making as many loans as they could
for condominium developments, shopping centers, office buildings, and high-priced suburban
housing developments. Loan applications were not always checked as closely as they had been
in the past, and some of the loans were approved more quickly than they had been in the old
days.
But nobody seemed concerned because the local economy was strong and real estate
values were rising rapidly.
Everything seemed fine; everyone was making money. But then the economy slowed down, and
things took a turn for the worse.
The weak economy forced many businesses to close, leaving
lots of vacant office space. Real estate values plummeted, and many developers fell behind on
their loan payments.
In the end, Bedrock Bank was losing so much money on bad real estate loans that government
regulators were forced to step in and close it. The regulators tried to find a buyer for Bedrock,
but no other bank wanted to get stuck with all the loans that had gone bad. Eventually,
another bank agreed to buy Bedrock if the federal government would agree to keep many of
the problem loans.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario