With the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. taking over so many banks -- Georgian Bank on Sept. 25 became the 95th to fail this year -- the agency has many assets to dispose of. The FDIC usually arranges for other financial institutions to take over most, if not all, of the deposits of failed banks, but there are always assets left over.
While much of the assets up for sale at auctioneers hired by the FDIC, including Rick Levin & Associates Inc., Tranzon LLC and Penny Worley Auctioneers, is routine stuff -- furniture, computers, copiers and other office equipment -- much is not. Visitors to the Worley site, for example, can bid on silk plants that belonged to Cape Fear Bank, closed on April 10 by the North Carolina Office of Commissioner of Banks. Prospective bidders have until Oct. 10 to top the current offers of $4 or $5 per plant. Prints and photographs can be had for as little as $5, though it will take $170 to top the standing offer of $155 for a piece of copper wall art featuring 15 fish and a sea turtle.
There are higher-end assets up for auction as well. Rick Levin offers a yellow gold ring with a 10-carat bi-color amethyst from the estate of Bank of Wyoming; bids start at $100, with the auction ending Oct. 14. The Chicago auction house also offers three Chevy Malibus owned by Corus Bank and a Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by Platinum Community Bank. Worley sold 13 tow trucks owned by New Frontier Bank.
But the most attention-grabbing assets for sale are four other vehicles owned by New Frontier, a Colorado bank shut April 10. Bidding at Worley for a 2001 Ferrari 360 Spider F1 with 27,363 miles currently stands at $66,000; unfortunately for the opening bidder, his or her $5 offer (later bumped to $1,000) did not hold up. A 1967 Chevy drag pickup truck with 1,000 horsepower remains more affordable ($8,400), as does a Von Dutch custom motorcycle ($9,000), which Worley helpfully notes "hasn't been started in a few years and I don't believe it has fluids." It does, however, come with a custom-molded gas tank and seat upholstered in Louis Vuitton leather. - David Elman
Continue reading below
