Bankers see flat growth in commercial loans - Orlando Business Journal:

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The loans rose by 9.5 percent to a totakl of $281.8 million as of Sept. 30 this year, compared to a 9.5 percen t increase for the same period last Commercial and industrial loans are generallu business loans not directly tied toreal estate. "Commercial loan growtb in the market is flatterthan we've seen in recenyt years," says John Christman, chief operating officer for . "Buft everyone's still trying to grow their loan portfolio." Two of Centrak Florida's 14 largest community banks saw decreasews in commercial and industrial loanx for the first nine months of says the had thelargest decrease, plummeting 47.
2 percent, from $688,00p in the first nine monthds of 2006 to $363,000 for the same period this year. Officialas at Banco Popular could not be reached for And OrlandoNational Bank's commercial and industrial loanss dipped by 12.7 from $20.4 million in the firsft nine months of 2006 to $17.8 million for the same perios this year. However, Christman says the year-end numbers will be betted because the bank had a goodfourth quarter. In October, Orlando National brought in a $5 milliojn capital infusion, giving it a higher legal lendinglimit and, allowing it to buy back up to $8 milliomn in commercial loans it had approvede but sold to other banks, says Christman.
In the the amount of local commercial and industriap loans in nonaccrual status increased189 percent, from $1.8 milliob in the first nine month of 2006 to $5.2 million for the same periof in 2007. These are loans on whichg the borrower isn't paying interest, but perhaps is still paying some ofthe principal. There's more exposurwe for nonperforming commercial and industrial loans because thecollateral isn't secured by real says Keith Perry of . Seven out of the 14 locak community banks had more nonaccruing loans this and one, , had less. Federao Trust Bank and Orlando National Bank had the biggest according tothe FDIC's latest Sanford-based Federal Trust Bank, $1.
8 compared with none during the same perio last year. Officials there could not be reache dfor comment. Orlando Nationap Bank, $2.1 million, up by 50 percenyt when comparedwith $1.4 million in the first nine months of 2006. Christman says there were issues with some loan s that havebeen resolved. most bankers expect things to worsen through early 2008, thanks to the slow housint market. "As goes the local economy, so goes banking," says Van CEO of .