The new wave of office lease deals are likely to raise a few eyebrows.
Flash back two years. Landlord's market. Up. Up. Up.... Then the sense that it was starting to level off a bit. At some point, the landlrod market stopped and the tenant market began.
When did it happen in Miami. Downtonw Miami. Let's start with renewals of existing tenants. The Carlton Fields renewal at (the soon to be renamed) Miami Tower was an initial turning point. Danet Linares helped Wealth Capital land Carlton Fields with a mere tenant improvement allowance and a not too steep rent increase. $38.00 psf renewal looks like a genius move by Linares.
Stan Jablonowski has been appointed to executive vice president of sales for AlphaStaff Group. He will be responsible for further developing agency channel partners, expanding into new markets and leading the sales team during the company's national expansion. Previously, he was the national northeast partner for Willis/HRH and has served as president and chief executive officer of Bank of America Insurance Services."
Miami Herald: "Two directors at Kaufman Rossin appointed to board of South Florida ACFE
The South Florida Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has appointed Ivan Garces and Jason Chorlins -- both directors at the firm Kaufman Rossin & Co. -- to its board of directors."
New York law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman continues the trend of out of state firms opening offices in South Florida. Kasowitz Benson has merged with Miami litigation firm Silverman Cosgrove, headed by former Akerman attorneys Larry Silverman, Scott Cosgrove, and James Sammataro. Also joining the firm are Kelly Luther and Maria Ruiz who left Clark Silvergate & Campbell.
According to their website, Kasowitz Benson's new Miami office 2009, "will continue to emphasize the firm's commercial litigation, class action defense and regulatory work. The Miami office's five partners have extensive experience in complex commercial, antitrust, entertainment law and product liability litigation."
Note from Rich: What a difference a year makes for Scott Rothstein
Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler continues its South Florida growth, this time into Miami, via a merger with intellectual property and entertainment law firm Wolfe & Goldstein .
Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin is no more. According the a Daily Business Review report, out of the pieces of the 50+ attorney firm comes two new boutique firms and one named partner joining Berger Singerman.
Alan Kluger and Abbey Kaplan will remain and the new firm will be a 24-attorney litigation boutique of Kluger Kaplan. Per Kaplan, “We figure specialization is the key” to success as a smaller firm.
Steven Peretz, along with Michael Chesal, Leora Herrmann and associate Paul Kobak, are leaving to launch their own intellectual property firm. Accoring to the article, the split is amicable and they will even remain in the same workspace. “We view IP law as a standalone specialty,” Peretz said. “We can signal to the market our specialization better by being a boutique firm.”
Bankruptcy partner Howard Berlin has joined Berger Singerman’s Miami office along with bankruptcy attorney Deborah Talenfeld.
Per capita income rose slower than inflation in Florida last year, meaning the average person was effectively earning less, according to federal statistics released Tuesday.
The Sunshine State ranked 45th among the 50 states for growth in per-person income, according to the numbers from the Commerce Department.
Per capita income is the total earned by all people, from all sources, in a geographic area, divided by the number of people who live there.
In Florida, the figure for last year was $39,070, up 1.7 percent from $38,417 the previous year."
Google Reader (1000+): "you do not as a manager need to have them working 2,000 hours (though you would like that!). You get 1600 hours at $500 collected from a service partner and she puts $800,000 into the kitty. Salary and benefits at $400k, overhead allocation $150k, net to the firm $250k. Bonus structures encourage more work and there is often generous sharing for it. But it is not required because there are all these other reasons not to force them out if you are making a quarter million a year from their efforts and they carry all these other burdens that would have to be borne by your equity partners otherwise.
Contrast that with an associate doing 1900 hours at $300 per hour, but a fairly typical post billing write down of 6% on hours...or 120. Net collected 1780. All in salary and benefits is $200k, less the overhead allocation of $150k and you net $114k. But, there is great variability in associate productivity. Many will work 2,000 hours or more, but the pre-billing write-offs can amount to 15% for the first two years. Frankly, if you can collect 1600 solid hours off an associate in each of the first two years, you are not doing all that badly. And that alas means that you are about at zero net contribution. Maybe.
Cap rates could reach late-1990s levels - The Real Deal South Florida Real Estate News: "'Certain fundamentals were not really looked at over the past few years -- especially in places like Miami that don't have a lot of land. People just expected that property to increase,' said Richard Schuchts, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle who has 12 years experience in the South Florida market. 'Now we're getting back to fundamentals.'
With investors unable to leverage the property the way they would have in 2005, the return on "cash investment" plummets, Schuchts said. Making the deal riskier, buyers also face the prospect of tenants not renewing leases or going bankrupt.
Movers in South Florida: "Chair of the Division of Marine Affairs and Policy at Rosenstiel School
Movers_David_Letson David Letson has been elected chair of the Division of Marine Affairs and Policy at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. The division undertakes basic and applied research and training activities contributing to policy development and management of marine resources. He is also a member of NOAA's Hurricane Forecast Socio-Economic Working Group and Science Advisory Board's Oceans and Health Working Group."
Movers_Phillis_Oeters Phillis Oeters, corporate vice president of government and community relations for Baptist Health South Florida, was elected president and chair of the Orange Bowl Committee. She currently serves on the boards of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Beacon Council, United Waym Coral Gables Community Foundation and Nat Moore Foundation. She is also chairman of the board of the Neurologically Injured Compensation Fund for the State of Florida."
Movers_Bob_Berrin Robert G. Berrin, president and co-owner of Capital Realty Services, has been appointed to the board of directors for First National Bank of Sount Miami. He is a board member of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and serves as chair of its Pacesetter Division. He is also the chair of the South Miami Hospital Foundation and a member of the South Miami Hospital governing board.
Posted by Bridget Carey at 06:51 PM in Banking Permalink | Comments (0) Senior vice president for Professional Bank
Movers_Frank_Sotolongo Frank Sotolongo has been hired as senior vice president of commercial lending for Professional Bank. His responsibilities include developing and managing commercial and personal relationships, providing banking solutions to clients and delivering convenient, expedient and personalized service throughout the banking relationship. Previously, he has held executive positions at Bank of America, Citibank, Regions Bank and FirstBank Florida.
Posted by Bridget Carey at 06:48 PM in Banking Permalink | Comments (0)"
Movers_Hector_Chichoni Hector A. Chichoni, attorney at Epstein Becker & Green, has been appointed national immigration counsel by ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association. In this role, he will advise the association on U.S. immigration and nationality law issues and legal trends affecting the aviation industry.
Posted by Bridget Carey at 07:18 PM in Aviation Permalink | Comments (0)"
Movers_Bernie_Saenz Bernie Saenz, project manager for Broward Health Information Services, has been named president-elect for the Project Management Institute South Florida Chapter. It is comprised of 270 chapters world-wide that help spread awareness of the profession.
Posted by Bridget Carey at 07:24 PM in Construction, Healthcare Permalink | Comments (0)"
Movers_Annie_Hernandez Annie Hernandez, senior litigation associate at Pathman Lewis, was selected to serve as chair for the newly created Frost Council on Philanthropy for the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, recently relocated to the Florida International University Park Campus."
Movers in South Florida: "Member elected to board of directors for the Doctors Hospital Foundation
Jay Perkins, founder and principal of Perkins Realty Advisors, has been elected to the board of directors for the Doctors Hospital Foundation, a part of Baptist Health South Florida Foundation, which oversees fundraising activities for Baptist Health. He also serves on the board of directors for East Ridge Retirement Village and is a past trustee of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce.
Posted by Bridget Carey at 06:32 PM in Nonprofit, Real Estate Permalink | Comments (0)"
Movers_mark_scott Mark S. Scott, partner for K&L Gates, has been named to the Life Science Steering Committee of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. He will be responsible for enhancing the committee’s mission, to serve as a voice and advisory group for the life science community, to analyze the current status of the local life science industry, to identify challenges to growing the industry and to recommend specific strategies for addressing these challenges."
Published: February 10 2009 00:03 | Last updated: February 10 2009 00:03
Two leading forces in the investment industry, distressed asset investor Wilbur Ross and the Carlyle private equity group, are considering a joint bid for BankUnited Financial, a troubled Florida-based bank with $14bn in assets, according to people familiar with the matter.
The two investors were conducting due diligence as Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, prepared a financial sector rescue plan that would seek to induce private capital to pursue deals for distressed financial institutions and assets.
BankUnited has said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its capital ratios had fallen below regulatory minimums. The filing said the bank “continues negotiations to raise capital and restructure its balance sheet. If such negotiations are not successful, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to continue as a going concern.”
BankUnited did not return a call requesting comment."
A veteran Miami banker who founded Mellon United National Bank 30 years ago was fired as chairman by its New York parent company, prompting three directors to resign in protest.
Fri. January 16, 2009 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BK
At 82, Gerald Katcher liked to say he planned to keep running Miami's Mellon United National Bank "until I die -- and for a few months afterward."
But on Tuesday, a top executive from its New York-based owner, Bank of New York Mellon, flew in on a corporate jet for a hastily called meeting and fired Katcher as chairman of the bank he helped found 30 years ago. Under Katcher's leadership, the commercial bank had grown to $2.3 billion in assets from less than $10 million."He told me to leave the bank immediately and turn in my key," Katcher said. "He said access to my computer was terminated and my personal belongings would be packed up and sent to me."Then, a BNY Mellon human-resources staffer, who flew down with David F. Lamere, vice chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, escorted Katcher from the building, asking him to hand over his parking card.Katcher's relationship with the holding company appears to have soured after an investor group he organized to buy the Florida unit from Bank of New York Mellon shelved its plans late last year amid upheaval in the banking sector.
On Wednesday, at a special meeting of the Miami bank's board, two directors quit in protest. A third director, Dr. Jose Greer, resigned Thursday.
"This was an insult to all of us," said Sherwood M. "Woody" Weiser, who resigned at the board meeting Wednesday after 30 years as a director. "I was deeply opposed to the action [to terminate Katcher] and in good conscience could not stay on the board."Weiser is chairman and CEO of Continental Cos., which develops and operates hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Mellon United was the lead lender on the Ritz-Carlton's construction loan.
"Jerry Katcher . . . created an incredible institution that was probably one of the most profitable banks.""It's one of the outrages of my life -- just stunning," said David Lawrence Jr., who also resigned at the meeting. Lawrence, a former publisher of The Miami Herald, is president of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, which Katcher and his wife, Dr. Jane Katcher, founded.
The New York bank named Mario Trueba, Katcher's longtime deputy who was regional president of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, as chairman and CEO of the Florida bank.In Boston, Lamere, chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, referred calls to a spokeswoman, Susan Rivers. Rivers said Katcher's departure "is part of a change in the management team.""We wish Mr. Katcher well in all his future endeavors," she said. She said Trueba "has been with the bank for 20 years and is highly respected. We're pointing to that as continuity and a smooth transition at the bank. In fact, all the senior management is intact."Rivers declined to comment on whether the failed sale of the bank played a role in Katcher's ouster. "We really don't comment on market speculation," she said.
Katcher and a longtime business associate, Howard R. Scharlin, started the bank in 1978 by acquiring a tiny unit of Southeast Bank. It had one branch in Aventura and fewer than 10 employees. The bank flourished, largely by focusing on building relationships with local professionals and entrepreneurs and providing responsive service.Katcher, a Yale-educated lawyer, built a stable of customers among law firms such as Greenberg Traurig and Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price and Axelrod, and catered to doctors and small businesses.By 1998, Katcher and his partner had grown the bank to more than $800 million in assets with 12 branches and 325 employees. Scharlin wanted to cash out, Katcher said, so he reluctantly agreed to sell to Mellon Bank, the Pittsburgh giant. The bank fetched $400 million, more than three times its book value -- a full price.As it turned out, Mellon gave Katcher free rein to continue to run the bank locally, and he stayed on. But in July 2007, Mellon merged with Bank of New York.The merged banking giant, which primarily is focused on asset and wealth management, decided to shed its California and Florida banks, he said. "It was sad news, but good news. I wanted to buy back the bank," Katcher said.Katcher put together an investor group, including bank directors Lawrence and Weiser and other Miami heavyweights such as Dr. Phillip Frost, Armando Codina, Charles Stuzin, and Michael Weintraub.Last June, the buyout group agreed to a price for the Florida bank unit, Katcher said, but as the economy slid in the months that followed, the price was cut.By September, the banking sector was facing unprecedented challenges. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch rushed to be acquired by Bank of America. AIG sought a government bailout.Mellon United, which is heavy into commercial real estate lending, saw its problem loan portfolio growing, too, but not to an unmanageable level. The bank remains well capitalized and profitable.By October, Katcher's group canceled its purchase agreement, saying times were too turbulent in the banking sector."It had nothing to do with the loan portfolio," he said. "It had everything to do with the meltdown occurring globally and what impact that might have on all banking in Florida for the foreseeable future."In November, Katcher said, Lamere asked to meet with Katcher and informed him the parent company wanted him to resign, saying the bank was going to impose more central controls that executives anticipated he would likely resist. Katcher said he was offered the chance to spin his retirement as his own decision.
Last week, Katcher called a special board meeting for Wednesday to inform the Miami bank's directors he was being pushed out. But Lamere fired him Tuesday before he could do so and summoned a special meeting of his own, Katcher said. Katcher said the bank is giving him a severance package.
"I was almost trembling as I spoke to the board," said ex-director Lawrence. "How could you do this to a human being who built the bank from a teeny-tiny place to a successful bank with $2 billion in assets. He has particular wisdom in building relationships. It was stunning in its callousness."
The Group of Thirty’s “Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability” is important both because of the concreteness of its 18 recommendations and because of who was involved. The authors were led by Paul Volcker, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers, and Jean-Claude Trichet, (president of the European Central Bank).
Banks:
banks deemed systemically important would face restrictions—in the form of “strict” capital requirements—on high-risk proprietary activities, that is bets made using their own money
strongly encourage investment banking arms of banks to focus on client businesses, such as merger advice, rather than trading
separating these needed because they seem “unmanageable in financial conglomerates"
also require raising the level at which banks are well-capitalised
Non-bank financial institutions:
pools of private capital that live on borrowed money should have to register with a regulator and produce regular reports, disclosing things such as leverage and performance.
biggest of them would even be subject to capital and liquidity standards.
bank-like regulation for money-market funds
legislation in America to set up a mechanism for dealing with non-bank failures
Other key issues:
Central banks should be more involved in supervising banks—but to safeguard integrity the role of chief firefighter should be played by others once trouble ignites. Central bankers “need to be more concerned about financial stability, but less involved in crises,”
formal system of regulation for over-the-counter derivatives, such as the type of credit swaps that sank American International Group
urges regulators to force banks to hold on to a significant portion of credit risk when they package loans into securities and sell them on, in order to curb reckless underwriting of mortgages and other debt.
calls for a rethink of certain accounting principles that may exacerbate downturns through pro-cyclicality, including the practice of marking assets to the current market value;
The other important message is that a global crisis requires a global fix. Mr Volcker was typically modest, insisting it was more an agenda for discussion than a hard-and-fast blueprint. But, given his closeness to Mr Obama, it is hardly far-fetched to imagine much of it becoming official policy. All that talk of the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s just took a step towards reality.
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeCongratulations to Jose Juncadella. Jose was named president of the Realtors Commercial Alliance of Miami-Dade. Jose is a good man and a great commercial real estate broker.
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