Great Florida Bank swings to a loss

Coral Gables-based Great Florida Bank flipped to a loss in the third quarter as it suffered charges from a major increase in non-performing loans. It lost $1.06 a share, down from a profit of a penny a share in the year-ago quarter. Great Florida’s non-performing loans — those that weren’t accruing interest — shot up to $96.3 million, representing 7.49 percent of its loan portfolio as of September 30. In the second quarter, the bank had $35.6 million in non-performing loans, accounting for just 2.69 percent of its portfolio. Great Florida stated that $51.3 million of the quarterly increase came from two loan relationships, but it did not identify the borrowers. Most of Great Florida’s non-performing loans were in land development and construction.