Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Today's Salander News (UPDATED)

Bloomberg's Philip Boroff reports that First Republic Bank is claiming $40 million in loans to Salander-O'Reilly and a related entity are in default. A bank spokesman is quoted as saying the loans are "adequately collateralized."

Boroff calls the Salander troubles "the biggest U.S. art market mess since the price-fixing scandal at auction houses in the 1990s."

UPDATE: Over at ARTINFO.com, Andrew Goldstein has the definitive summary of what we know so far about Salander's "gradual implosion" over the past three years. The next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7.