Maybe they proved "Too Big To Fail" isn't real

FNBC failed. From the looks of things the people most hurt by this are grifters and real estate vampires.

First NBC's absence from the market has already created ripple effects.

"I know people that were either right at the beginning of projects, or just about to break ground on projects, that got really stalled and really stuck by this," said Will Bradshaw, co-founder of a New Orleans-based real estate firm, Green Coast Enterprises.

Among other projects, Bradshaw is involved in turning the old Tulane Industrial Laundry building in Mid-City into a mixed-use development with commercial space and a dozen apartments, an effort that faced delays after its tax credit financing through First NBC fell apart with the bank's collapse.

Likewise, New Orleans actor Wendell Pierce voiced frustration that his effort to build affordable homes in Pontchartrain Park languished because his financing fizzled.

"You look at any development or any business that was with First NBC — it's a transition period of what Whitney wants to do or doesn't want to do, or other private investors," Pierce said in a recent interview. "It's still sorting itself out in so many businesses around the city and the region."

Other projects also faced setbacks, including a $15 million effort to redevelop the former Holy Cross School building in the Lower 9th Ward and plans to transform the former St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and School in Marigny into a 71-room hotel and event space.

Not sure what the downside is here.