JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, and the rest of the 10 largest banks in the United States represent at least 29 percent of the 250,000 foreclosure filings initiated in the tricounty South Florida region since the real estate crash began in 2007, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.  

The concentration is even greater if the foreclosure filings of several failed banks - such as the former Wachovia and Washington Mutual - are statistically credited to the top 10 financial institutions that absorbed the shuttered lenders, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

"Many people realize that the South Florida foreclosure epidemic is hurting the bottom line of the state-chartered banks that made a business out of lending in their own backyards," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "Our research shows that the South Florida foreclosure problem is also impacting the ledgers of the nation's largest banks. The clear advantage that the large banks enjoy  is the capital ability to better absorb a repossession."

Condo Vultures® is assembling a panel of experts on Sept. 14 in Downtown Miami to discuss the issue of foreclosure trends in a seminar entitled "Concerns Grow About Double Dip For South Florida Real Estate."