WASHINGTON — A lawmaker is pleading with a bank regulator to help stay the closing of a private company, but the company is not a bank and its troubles have more to do with weather patterns than bad lending.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., according to published reports, has become involved in the plight of Greek Peak, a ski resort in Cortland, N.Y.
After the sparse snow last winter, Greek Peak needs $1.6 million in financing to stay open. But the decision to lend the money now rests with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after the resort's lender, Tennessee Commerce Bank in Franklin, failed in January.
The FDIC, which had kept most of the failed bank's loans in receivership, has disbursed $200,000 to Greek Peak while it reviews the company's financial condition, reports say.
Appearing at the resort July 16, Schumer called for a quick decision to help keep the resort open and save over 1,000 jobs, according to local news outlets that covered the event.
The "slow business" from last winter's poor snow "was coupled with the failure of Greek Peak's primary lender, which has caused a serious financial crunch at this Cortland County operation," said Schumer, according to WKTV, a channel in the area. "That is why I'm urging the FDIC to expedite its review of this $1.6 million loan, so that once we are sure that Greek Peak's financial house is in order, the resort will get the immediate lift it needs to make it to the upcoming ski season."
The station reported a letter Schumer had sent Martin Gruenberg, the FDIC's acting chairman. "I am writing to urge you and your staff to complete a thorough but expedient review, and, consistent with your obligations, to leave no stone unturned in your efforts to keep Greek Peak a viable going concern and to preserve these important jobs in upstate New York," Schumer wrote. "If the business can survive, and get back to normal, the FDIC, the company and the Cortland County region will all emerge winners."