Geml's perspective

It's always beneficial to talk to industry veterans because they've seen so many ups and downs.

Take longtime Lee County banker Michael Geml, who has organized and grown several banks and most recently was president and CEO of Busey Bank in Fort Myers.

Geml now has his own consulting firm called MPG Professional Consulting, which helps distressed commercial borrowers restructure loans. “I think the majority of the banks are still treading water,” he says. “The borrowers are continuing to see difficulty in getting new loans.”

But in a sign that things may be leveling off, Geml says he's seen more banks taking possession properties in foreclosure, betting on a real estate recovery by holding onto them instead of selling them immediately. “They think they can carry them and sell them at a future date,” he says.

Geml says that the residential real estate market is at a better stage of recovery than commercial real estate. “On the residential side, we have hit bottom,” he says.

Geml, who continues to help distressed commercial borrowers, recently announced he's consulting for Palm Harbor-based Alltrust Insurance Group, which is expanding into the Fort Myers-Naples market.