An Oklahoma City company said last week it's been hired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sell the loan portfolio of the failed First National Bank of Nevada.
The $500 million portfolio to be sold by First Financial Network Inc. includes loans made by Reno-based First National Bank of Nevada as well as loans from a sister institution, First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach, Calif.
The banks, which were owned by First National Bank Holding Co. of Scottsdale, Ariz., failed in late July.
Mutual of Omaha Bank took over the bank's deposits, but not all of its loans, and reopened its offices under the Mutual of Omaha flag. It acquired about $200 million in loans from the failed bank as part of the takeover.
The portfolio to be sold includes 585 loans, both performing and non-performing, First Financial Network said. They include commercial real estate loans, business loans, residential mortgages, and consumer loans.
About 44 percent of the loans that are backed by some form of collateral are in Arizona, First Financial Network said. Nevada loans account for 35 percent, and California loans for 15 percent.
First Financial Network will package the loans into pools based on the loans' performance, location and collateral.
The company expected to have information available for qualified investors this week (it's at www.firstfinancialnet.com), and plans to select winning bids on Dec. 16. Bidding will be conducted online.
Bliss Morris, president and chief executive officer of First Financial Network, said the company in recent months has seen strong demand from investors who want to buy good loans and troubled loans alike.
The First National Bank loans, he said, are likely to draw especially strong interest because the portfolio is composed predominately of commercial real estate and business loans.