Bad loans haunt small banks

Published Aug. 31, 2010 at 4:36 a.m.
(By Rick Rothacker and Christina Rexrode, rrothacker@charlotteobserver.com and crexrode@charlotteobserver.com) The six community banks based in Mecklenburg County are still struggling to tame troubled loan portfolios, as the economy and real estate markets continue to sputter, federal data show.

Five of six saw their troubled loans increase compared to the first half of 2009. Half the banks have posted losses so far this year. And while some large banks, including Charlotte's Bank of America, have begun to reduce their cushions for bad loans, all but one of Mecklenburg's small banks continued to sock away more money for potential losses.

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