Bankers are making life difficult for another Tampa Bay real estate company. Mercantile Bank is demanding luxury builder Marc Rutenberg Homes repay $2.66 million on a loan that matured April 30.

The bank is trying to foreclose on Rutenberg's vacant lots in a waterfront development called Indian Point of Palm Harbor.

The Rutenberg case is part of a wider problem of banks calling loans to trim exposure to Florida real estate. On Thursday, Tampa's Kearney Construction Co. filed for bankruptcy when bankers refused to refinance or extend loans, even though Kearney was current on payments.

Company president Marc Rutenberg vowed to keep the building business running and is working deals for private investors to pay off Mercantile.

Rutenberg, nephew of famed builder Arthur Rutenberg, continues to sell houses in ritzy neighborhoods like Hawks Landing in north Pinellas County.