Building good will: Bank forgives debt of customers burned by home builder bankruptcy

First Bank, the St. Louis lender that bought failing Coast Bank at a fire sale in December, is doing good by customers burned after St. Petersburg builder Construction Compliance Inc. declared bankruptcy last year.

For those who didn't follow the sorry saga, Construction Compliance hooked up with Coast Bank to build no-money-down investment homes in Sarasota County. Buyers, scores of whom came from the Tampa Bay area, would flip the homes for an instant gain of 10 percent.

You know how this tale ends: Construction Compliance didn't complete hundreds of homes, and many buyers were left with debts of $80,000 on vacant lots in undesirable locations.

Leading up to its dissolution in December, Coast Bank played tough with buyers seeking debt relief. But First Banks has recently let some buyers wipe the slate clean for only $15,000-$20,000. And the buyer gets to keep the lot.

First Bank bought Coast Bank so cheaply - $12-million for 20 branches - it can probably afford to be generous. What's more, a buyers' lawsuit still hangs over a bank trying to start fresh in the Tampa Bay area.

Good for customers. Good for business. Who can complain?