Wilbur Ross tells Reuters of plans to acquire a major bank

Reuters showed on Jan. 16 that the takeover of First Bank & Trust, though a tiny deal, was significant because it was the first of many bank acquisitions by billionaire investor Wilbur Ross. Prompted by news that Ross had bought a Florida community bank, Reuters reached Ross in his Palm Beach home to get his views on the timing for bank deals, the impact of Treasury’s TARP investments and why WL Ross` next deal will more likely be a big, distressed bank. Ross predicted the US government will likely have to invest far more than the $350 billion it has spent so far to preserve the banking industry. He also anticipated a bigger role going forward for private equity investors, who had been pushed to the sidelines by sovereign wealth funds and government bailouts.