Sabal Inks Another Deal for Distressed Bank Assets

A Newport Beach, Calif., firm that buys problem loans from banks has struck its second deal in less than a week.

Sabal Financial Group, which last week bought $69 million of loans in the Southeast from BB&T (BBT), announced Tuesday that it has acquired $96 million of commercial real estate and land loans from Bank of the West in San Francisco. The loans are both performing and nonperforming loans secured by properties in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Pat Jackson, Sabal's chief executive, said in a news release that his company was attracted to the Bank of the West portfolio primarily because of its land holdings. The supply of buildable land is limited so Jackson believes the properties' value will only increase as the real estate market recovers.

"We have the luxury of being patient in working out these assets," Jackson said.

With the purchase, Sabal now has amassed nearly $4 billion of assets since it was formed in 2009. The company also recently formed a unit that makes direct loans to home builders in California and the Pacific Northwest.

Bank of the West, with $62 billion of assets, is a unit of French banking giant BNP Paribas.