On February 9, 2010, a federal district court in Macon, Georgia issued a noteworthy decision in a dispute over a participation agreement finding the lead bank to have breached the agreement and ordering the lead bank to repurchase an interest from a participating bank.
The case of Sun American Bank v. Fairfield Financial Services, Inc. involved a claim by Sun American that Fairfield Financial had breached its obligations under a loan participation agreement involving a condominium project in north Florida. Sun American contended that Fairfield Financial had breached the agreement by failing to disclose to participants in a timely manner the downgrades in its credit relationship with the borrower and of circumstances that were likely to have a material, adverse effect on the loan. Sun American sought to compel Fairfield Financial to repurchase its interest in the loan as a remedy for the breach.
Judge Ashley Royal, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, granted summary judgment in favor of Sun American finding that Fairfield Financial had failed to meet its disclosure obligations to the participants. Judge Royal noted that the disclosure requirement with respect to credit downgrades was particularly important given that the lead bank possessed substantial information regarding the borrower’s affairs that was not available to Sun American as a participant bank.
Regulators Issue Statement on Lending to Creditworthy Small Businesses
On February 5, 2010, the federal banking regulators and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors issued an Interagency Statement on the Credit Needs of Creditworthy Small Business Borrowers. The Statement builds upon principles set forth in the October 2009 Policy Statement on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Workouts. After noting the overall decline in loans to small businesses and the reasons for that decline the regulators suggested that lenders may have become overly cautious with respect to small business lending. They encourage lenders to engage in prudent small business lending and that that examiners will not criticize lenders for working in prudent and constructive manner with small businesses.
The decline in small business lending has many reasons, not the least of which is that loan demand is actually down. Lenders are also naturally cautious of lending to those businesses that are reliant solely on cash flow that has slowed due to the slowdown in consumer spending and the decline ion the personal wealth of the owners of the businesses. Despite the assertions to the contrary by the regulators, lenders are concerned that there is a disconnect between statements from Washington, DC and what actually happens in the field when examiners are onsite at financial institutions. Our experience seems to show that local federal regulators do not see any upside in being flexible when faced with making decisions about how to rate credits. Lenders are therefore naturally reluctant to maker decisions based on guidance until they see it actually implemented on the ground.