This is very interesting to me. The bottom has fallen out of SBA-backed lending in South Florida, of which Wachovia/Wells had been big a player. BofA and other national banks with less exposure also bailed. And this even though the federal stimu-pork deal increased SBA guarantees to 90 percent of loan value. This was almost guaranteed money, right? Why turn that down?

I submit that Wells/Wachovia and the other big national banks used the SBA loans as come-ons to sketchy small businesses in go-go markets, customers who were then upsold more profitable, “private label” products in addition to the SBA script. In other words, the commercial lending many banks engaged in was as every bit as speculative and unsound as the mortgage biz they created from 2002-2007.

In any event, the truth will come out. Probably in the form of more write-downs.

Update: Commercial real estate won’t get better until 2012 and will lead to more bank failures, Congress told.