The latest casualty in the housing crunch appears to be small local banks who are normally able to weather such storms since they typically don’t offer bad credit or ccj loans to their customers. However, over the past few years, many changed their stance on ccj loans and began offering them on a regular basis. Now, these small banks are paying the price.”If we break even this year I’ll be happy,” said Stanley Kelley, chairman and chief executive officer of The Community Bank in Loganville, which funded subdivision construction in Gwinnett and Walton counties.”You’re going to see companies fail, you’re going to see companies merge to survive,” said Christopher Marinac, an analyst at FIG Partners in Atlanta, a bank research firm.Jim Verbrugge, professor emeritus of finance at the University of Georgia, agreed. “For the community banks it’s still unfolding,” he said. “They’re trying to figure out how deep the hole really is.”"It’s their lack of diversity that makes them vulnerable,” said Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. “It’s the community banks where you’re going to find your very best performers and your very worst performers.”
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