Sep. 18--One of Atlanta's best-known business titans says he's in danger of getting burned in the state's banking meltdown.

Buckhead Community Bank, launched by Aaron Rents founder Charlie Loudermilk, has been searching in vain for investors or a buyer as the bank fights for survival. But Loudermilk said potential investors have been scared off by the bank's $160 million pool of toxic loans mostly tied to real estate bets gone bad.

"We've turned over every stone to get people to invest," Loudermilk, 82, said in a recent interview. "We don't know what the future holds. It's up to the [regulators.]"

Loudermilk, chairman of the bank's board of directors, said he's gone as far as to remind customers the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees individual accounts up to $250,000. "A lot of these investors are friends of mine, and it's only fair that I tell them what the law is," he said.

Watching the bank fall into distress has been humbling for Loudermilk, who built Aaron Rents -- now known as Aaron's Inc. -- into a lease-to-own retail giant.

"I'm known as a winner," said Loudermilk. "In this case I'm a loser. If the bank closes, I'm a loser. Hell, there's nothing I can do about it."

The bank lost $38 million in the second quarter, including a write-off of goodwill, and burned through much of its capital cushion.

Marvin Cosgray, Buckhead Community's president and CEO, said he's exploring several options that could turn things around.

Cosgray said he can't disclose details. But he said the plan includes selling a sizable chunk of the bank's non-performing loans in hopes that an improved balance sheet will prove more palatable to investors. He noted that the bank has a large base of about 16,000 depositors, some of them very wealthy, which should prove attractive for investors.

"I'm optimistic, I'm very hopeful," Cosgray said. "I'm working very hard to survive in this current environment. All of us are. We are looking at everything."

Banking experts say it's no surprise that Buckhead Community has had a hard time finding investors. It's a story being played out at banks across Georgia and the country.

The problem: Banks and other investors who might want to buy banks are waiting until they're able to pick up failed institutions on the cheap, with loss-sharing protection from the FDIC to boot.

"Private equity and private capital is right now focused on failed bank transactions," said Chris Marinac, a banking analyst at FIG Partners in Atlanta.