Former finance minister bails out Anchor bank

Guido Hinojosa Cardoso
Guido Hinojosa Cardoso

Anchor Commercial Bank was damaged by the fallout of the housing market collapse, but the intercession of a Bolivian businessman may have kept it from sinking, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

Guido E. Hinojosa Cardoso, a La Paz-based investor and Bolivia’s former finance minister, has sought Federal Reserve approval to purchase $5 million in newly issued stock in the bank, and offer an additional $3 million in shares to other investors.

Hinojosa Cardoso, who is in his late 70s, is president of the Bolivian stock market and has a controlling stake in Banco Fortaleza. The recapitalization plan won approval from Florida’s financial regulatory body April 18.

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The Juno Beach-based Anchor bank with $106.5 million in assets was “critically undercapitalized” in the fourth quarter, according to the Journal.

Anchor Commercial Bank had $14.7 million in noncurrent loans, or 18.6 percent of total loans, and $3.1 million in repossessed property, on March 31. That’s down from 18.4 percent in noncurrent loans and $3.3 million in repossessed property at the end of 2012. [South Florida Business Journal]Emily Schmall