A native of the manufacturing city of Lansing, Michigan, Beal has collected an A-list of partners and friends. He's pals with Trump, the loudmouthed developer. He talks history with Gabe Kaplan, creator and star of the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter." He's done business with Icahn, the corporate raider. Former President George W. Bush visited Beal's offices after leaving the White House.
This year, Beal attended the Las Vegas wedding of his friend Steve Wynn, the casino developer. Clint Eastwood was the best man.
Beal, who flies commercial and drives a Ford Excursion sport utility vehicle around Dallas, says he still reviews every deal his company does to make sure he's not spending too much. These days, Beal is hitting the brakes because he sees a bubble inflating.
Stocks and corporate bonds have rallied during the past two years because the U.S. government dumped money into the economy in the form of rock-bottom interest rates and imprudent deficit spending, Beal says.
"Today's markets are being supported by a flood of money," he says. "There are so many lenders in a race to the bottom when things are good. We don't participate in that."
Trump, who borrowed at least $600 million from Beal's banks during multiple bankruptcies by his casinos, says investors should heed the banker's warning. "He has 20/20 vision into what is going to happen in the future," says Trump, 65, who briefly flirted with running for the U.S. presidency this year. "I know lots of smart bankers. Andy is right at the top of the list."
Beal's politics -- he's a self-declared libertarian -- seem an odd fit for a banker who relies on federal guarantees to attract deposits. He loathes big government and gives money to politicians who vow to dismantle it. Until they do, he plans to avail himself of federal programs to make money just like the next guy.
"I hate big government," Beal says in an e-mail between a series of interviews granted, he says, only to ensure that the facts about his banks are correct. "I don't like the government- issued paper currency rules or the laws that require its use. But those are the rules, and I live by them."
In buying loans, Beal takes heftier risks with FDIC-insured money than do many bankers. Delinquent loans accounted for 21 percent of all loans at Las Vegas-based Beal Bank Nevada, the largest of his three banks, compared with an average of 5 percent for all U.S. banks as of March 31.
Taking bigger risks is legal as long as Beal abides by rules that prohibit banks from owning equity in nonfinancial companies or buying most debt rated as junk without dispensation from regulators, Shaffer says.