Bank of the Ozarks on Track for a Strong 2017
[{"id": "dixti3x", "text": "newbie question- Bank of the Ozarks is like the ONLY bank doing construction loans right now especially in NYC, most banks's exposure to CRE construction is in the 1-2% of total assets range. And Ozarks sits at ~25%. And also almost half of their construction portfolio is in NYC. Whats their secret sauce? They seem to believe that they will be able to handle a downturn, any thoughts?", "replies": [{"id": "dj3x3ni", "text": "I've got some insight for you. They (Ozarks) like the risk/return (i don't blame them) and mitigate it by only lending on quality projects with quality developers, with asset classes that are less likely to get affected during another downturn. \n\nThey among the select few who were aggressively pursuing construction loans immediately coming out of the recession, their attitude towards it is the same unlike most lenders who I'd put in the same aggressive bucket for the past five years. \n\nThere are projects trying to get built which can't because they can't get a construction loan right now. As the majority of lenders aren't opening new relationships/touching that construction loan bucket and if they can't get the loan through previous relationships/experiences they are shit out of luck until the Fall at least. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dizdp9l", "text": "There is no secret sauce.  This bank will implode when the market turns.  They are lending on deals in my submarket that no other lender will touch because the assets have poor fundamentals.", "replies": [{"id": "dj6krfp", "text": "&gt;  it by only lending on quality projects with quality developers, with asset classes that are less likely to get affected during another downturn.\n\nAre you sure that is the case? Some insights from people in the industry are they are lending to the absolute un-bankable developers- the people that nobody else will lend do. As a result, they can charge higher interest rates, but regardless their loans are extremely risky. Even /u/corduroy4 who commented below stated that they are lending on deals that no other lender will touch. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "dnpdt4b", "text": "As a former employee, this is exactly what will happen. Their shit is a mess behind the scenes. They're not even filing with the SEC anymore. They're shady as fuck to work for. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]