The worst bank in America, founded by suburban sprawl titans Sergio Pino and Ramon Rasco, may get absorbed by a group of foreign investors through a shareholder vote this evening.
US Century Bank is the insider piggy bank of Miami-Dade County. Its board of directors benefited from insider loans, more than any other comparably sized bank in America. Ramon Rasco, bank chairman and Miami-Dade County insider, calls US Century "a first class community bank." Today, it is the most severely undercapitalized bank in the United States and the largest recipient of TARP (ie. taxpayer) funds in Florida. According to a recent report by South Florida Business Journal, the US Treasury is poised to accept an 87 percent discount to its TARP loan, the largest yet of any bank to receive federal taxpayer-backed support.
Why the bank wasn't shuttered by the FDIC long ago is a mystery, but may have to do with the influence peddling at which its directors excel. Somehow the bank, and its directors' (past and present) land ownership outside the UDB escaped the interest of the mainstream media. Read the Eye on Miami archives, under US Century for details.
Citizens who have struggled for decades to protect quality of life in Miami-Dade, especially in lands edging the Everglades from Homestead and Florida City to West Kendall, often experienced the severe handicap levied by exactly those special interests who chartered US Century Bank in order to facilitate the spread of suburban sprawl westward and into the last remaining open space in South Florida. Now it is clear, they did it by "legally" loaning each other money backed by small depositors and gaming the political system, at which they excelled long before establishing the most corrupt little bank in South Florida.
Who is C1 Bank, that proposed a merger that essentially wipes out US Century shareholders? The Miami Herald cites only "four investors". From South Florida Business Journal, we know that those four investors are "Brazilians", but we really don't know, do we?
All we know for sure is if this transaction proceeds, the sordid details of insider loans connected to the housing boom will be buried forever.
Taxpayers are owed the facts. The US Department of Treasury must block this deal. US Century shareholders -- also kept in the dark by key Rasco operatives at the bank -- should also vote against the deal. The clock is ticking. It's not too late.
US Century Bank is the insider piggy bank of Miami-Dade County. Its board of directors benefited from insider loans, more than any other comparably sized bank in America. Ramon Rasco, bank chairman and Miami-Dade County insider, calls US Century "a first class community bank." Today, it is the most severely undercapitalized bank in the United States and the largest recipient of TARP (ie. taxpayer) funds in Florida. According to a recent report by South Florida Business Journal, the US Treasury is poised to accept an 87 percent discount to its TARP loan, the largest yet of any bank to receive federal taxpayer-backed support.
Why the bank wasn't shuttered by the FDIC long ago is a mystery, but may have to do with the influence peddling at which its directors excel. Somehow the bank, and its directors' (past and present) land ownership outside the UDB escaped the interest of the mainstream media. Read the Eye on Miami archives, under US Century for details.
Citizens who have struggled for decades to protect quality of life in Miami-Dade, especially in lands edging the Everglades from Homestead and Florida City to West Kendall, often experienced the severe handicap levied by exactly those special interests who chartered US Century Bank in order to facilitate the spread of suburban sprawl westward and into the last remaining open space in South Florida. Now it is clear, they did it by "legally" loaning each other money backed by small depositors and gaming the political system, at which they excelled long before establishing the most corrupt little bank in South Florida.
Who is C1 Bank, that proposed a merger that essentially wipes out US Century shareholders? The Miami Herald cites only "four investors". From South Florida Business Journal, we know that those four investors are "Brazilians", but we really don't know, do we?
All we know for sure is if this transaction proceeds, the sordid details of insider loans connected to the housing boom will be buried forever.
Taxpayers are owed the facts. The US Department of Treasury must block this deal. US Century shareholders -- also kept in the dark by key Rasco operatives at the bank -- should also vote against the deal. The clock is ticking. It's not too late.
16 comments:
This is what you are talking about?
(S FL BUSINESS JOURNAL< NOV. 21, 2012) The Cuban-American National Council has been named in a foreclosure lawsuit from U.S. Century Bank.
The 40-year-old nonprofit organization (CNC) in Miami has run schools, offered employment programs, hosted health fairs, issued political policy papers, and helped develop affordable housing for low-income seniors. One of its operations was an alternative school in Hialeah, which the Doral-based bank now wants to seize.
U.S. Century Bank filed an $850,000 foreclosure lawsuit on Nov. 7 against Codel Inc. and CNC targeting the 11,098-square-foot building at 1851 Palm Ave. Attorney Victor K. Rones, who represents the bank in the complaint, couldn’t be reached for comment.
When asked about the lawsuit, U.S. Century Bank President and CEO Carlos Davila said he was familiar with the Codel loan, but he wasn’t aware CNC was named as a guarantor. He didn’t offer a comment.
U.S. Century Bank has a large base of Hispanic small business clients, especially Cuban Americans.
CNC President Guarione M. Diaz said the group is trying to sell the building to satisfy the loan, but it has been unable to find a buyer so far. The organization ran a school there for several years, but the Miami-Dade School Board didn’t have enough students to refer to them and they decided to close it. He said they haven’t been able to pay the mortgage since the school closed.
“We are exploring every possible avenue to get the building sold,” Diaz said. “It is in good condition and in a very good area, on Palm Avenue near city hall.”
Diaz said he hopes U.S. Century Bank won’t come after the nonprofit’s funds seeking a judgment.
CNC is now operating a charter school in Little Havana, as Diaz said the charter school model is more viable than running an alternative school.
The future of this lawsuit could move into the hands of St. Petersburg-based C1 Bank, which has a pending deal to acquire U.S. Century Bank. However, the deal requires the U.S. Department of the Treasury to approve a major discount on its investment in U.S. Century Bank.
No accountability. Nada. If there is a Hall of Shame in Miami, this bank and its directors go right up at the top.
I seem to remember all those full page ads US Century Bank took out in the Miami Herald. I wonder if that has anything to do with the white glove treatment the paper always gave the bank and its directors? Wasn't Pino invited to the newsroom to lecture the reporters a few years ago? Just sayin'...
Where is the FBI when you need them?
Busy apprehending Ana Sol Aliegro!
The political insiders are still inside County Hall. They should not be left out of the blame game. That list is lengthy. The voting records of all BCC members should be examined as well with zoning and UDB application. Being that most of us are not being compensated to do this lengthy research and the Herald certainly won't go out of it's way, perhaps the South Florida Business Journal can pick up the tab of this. It would be a Pulitzer Prize winner of insider corruption and/or bank fraud if I've ever seen one!
Thank you for continuing and following this. I hope this does not get buried and everyone is held accountable.
Read today in the Herald what happens. I wrote extensively about Wackenhut ripping off the County with over billing in 2008 and 2009. Today the Herald reported that the over billing case fizzles. A case against one defendant was dropped because of the statute of limitations. Our State Attorney's office gives scammers a free ride. Accountability is absent in Miami Dade county.
Wackenhut is now called G4S. Is the county still awarding them contracts?
Good question. The answer is YES. There were 5 lobbyists registered to G4S for a 2011 contract and lobbyist Anthony Johnson registered Oct. 18, 2012 as their lobbyist. They have 5 open lobbyist contracts.
That is why the Feds need to cover Miami Dade County corruption. Rundle won't do it. She needs to keep getting re elected. Look at the Rivera stuff, the same "statute of limitations" which leads me to believe if they drag their feet long enough everyone skates!
And, the eternal son wanna be senator is doing what now, by the way?
Getting back to this story I hope the shareholders don't cave. There are far too many unknowns here and far too many people at all different levels who have basically stolen money from all of us in one way or the other.
Environmental destruction set aside for this argument there are a lot of financial questions/tangles here which only the Feds will touch.
We'll see what Rubio does to block the Fed investigation of Rivera, if that's even true because there's been so many versions of his "alleged" wrong doing it's confusing! I say that very tongue in cheek.
This just gets messier by the minute!
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/11/21/fdic-doesnt-approve-of-ex-director-at.html
How does a supermarket person turn in to a banker/real estate developer? Is that like giving out real estate sales licenses at the DMV? It's nice to know Guerra is making a profit from the rents!
Taxpayers don't get their money back, but Guerra does!
Disgusting!@
"Guerra, a former administrator at Sedano’s Supermarket and a real estate developer, is a founding director of U.S. Century Bank. He also leases three branches to the bank, collecting $418,000 in rent in 2011, and has received loans from the bank."
Sedanos is just like Lowe's. Got to move the Urban Development Boundary to create more houses and more demand for its shopping centers. That's some business model!@!!
It's Brazilian investment firm, 3G Capital - same folks that will flame-broil Burger King, once and for all.
Better than that we should name the airport after homebuilder Sergio Pino and the huge county HQ downtown after lobbyist Rodney Barreto. The whole county commission would sponsor it.
We might as well just let Brazilian investors have the whole of South Florida. Draw the line at the I4 Corridor and make the Carnival a state holiday.
To the editor of South Fla.Biz Journal, Thank You if it wasn't for you we US Century Investors would not know anything. Please , Please contact the FBI, US dept. of Justice this whole city , US Century is as corrupt as can be! We can not allow this blatant acts of fraud and insider bank loan preferences to their intimate friends go unpunished. Justice must prevail.
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