Lender with LV investments seized by federal regulators

Federal regulators today said they seized Corus Bancshares Inc., a Chicago-based lender to condominium, office and hotel projects. The seizure came after the bank said collateral securing condo loans in Nevada and three other states had lost value.

Corus had acknowledged that its capital was critically eroded. The bank had cited "a rapid and precipitous decline" in the value of collateral securing its condo loans, mainly in Nevada, Arizona, Southern California and Southern Florida.

Corus was highly exposed to the volatile high-rise condo market. In 2006, the bank had 90 percent of its $9 billion loan portfolio allocated to condo projects, including $770 million in Las Vegas. Among its local projects are Juhl ($106 million), Newport Lofts ($87 million), Panorama Towers ($236 million), Streamline ($123 million) and One Las Vegas ($140 million).

Streamline and One Las Vegas entered foreclosure earlier this year due to slow sales activity and the inability or unwillingness of buyers to close escrow. Newport Lofts foreclosed last year. Sandhurst, another high-rise condo project that Corus was going to finance, never started construction.