M&I Bank sells assets to private equity firm

SilverLeaf Financial, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based private equity firm, announced recently that it has acquired a $70 million pool of assets from Milwaukee-based Marshal & Ilsley Corp. SilverLeaf acquired 19 assets from 17 loan relationships, 25 loans and two properties in the deal.
The associated collateral from SilverLeaf’s M&I acquisition contains a mix of commercial and residential land, single-family residences, office buildings, industrial buildings, storage units, and multi-family units. The collateral is located primarily in Florida, Wisconsin, and Arizona, which are M&I’s primary markets. 
"We are excited about this purchase,” said SilverLeaf chief executive officer Shane Baldwin. “We’ve purchased several loans from M&I in the past, and they have been a great seller for us. This 2nd quarter was a big quarter for a lot of sellers as it was for a lot of buyers. There was a lot of product on the market, and I think that’s why we saw such favorable pricing on the deals that we acquired."
"As long as we continue to see good product at nice discounts from banks, special servicers and the FDIC, we will be a very active buyer in this market," said Benjamin Smith, vice president of acquisitions for SilverLeaf Financial.
M&I has lost money for seven consecutive quarters. Over the past 12 months, the company has lost $882.4 million. M&I’s losses are largely related to the collapse of the housing markets in Florida and Arizona. For the past two years, M&I has written down large housing-related losses in both markets.