The Chicago Tribune has posted this on it’s website:
“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is preparing to put about a half a dozen struggling Chicago-area banks out for bid to healthy institutions that might want buy their deposits and assets, people familiar with the process said.”
Among the banks being shopped…according to the Tribune…is Chicago’s Broadway Bank. This is the bank owned by the family of Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias. The bank lost $75-million dollars last year and Giannoulias himself has recently said the bank would likely fail.
(*NEW*) FDIC spokesman Greg Hernandez would not confirm or deny the Tribune report. Hernandez saying via e-mail, “The FDIC does not comment on open and operating institutions.” And Broadway Bank is both open and remains in operation.
However dark the long-term outlook for Broadway Bank…spokesman Tilden Katz says efforts to find investors willing to inject money into the struggling institution are on-going.
“We’re getting real interest from investor groups and are working hard to recapitalize the bank,” says Katz.
Broadway Bank has been the single biggest issue in the campaign…and it’s believed to have hurt Giannoulias in the February Democratic primary where he won by a slim margin over political newcomer David Hoffman.
Still…recent polls have Giannoulias in a neck-and-neck race with Republican nominee Mark Kirk.