Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said on Thursday he would consider buying banks under a newly revised proposal on private equity investment in troubled banks, but the rules should be eased further.

U.S. banking regulators on Wednesday partially retreated from a much-criticized proposal to impose new rules on private equity investment in troubled banks, aiming to encourage responsible investment in distressed banks.

The regulators lowered capital requirements and dropped or modified measures that could have required investors to kick in more capital after their initial investment. The rules will be further reviewed in six months.

In an interview with Reuters Television, Ross said the capital requirements should be lowered even further.

Under the current proposal, Ross said he still would be “in the game” and look at banks that have good local deposits. He said many of his potential targets are in Sunbelt States such as Florida, Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

Ross said the private equity industry has about $450 billion of unused capital and roughly $100 billion of that could be used to invest in banks.

Separately, Ross called the commercial real estate market the next “time bomb” that the market under-appreciates. Ross said he would be an investor in distressed commercial properties.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Rebecca Cook

Wilbur Ross is still in the running for a bank, although his plans to buy one were delayed when the U.S. government stepped in with its $700 billion package to bail out the sector, the investor told CNN Money in an interview.

The rescue package delayed Ross’ plans by six to 12 months, the report said.

“We will end up with a bank, there is no doubt about that,” the report quoted Ross as saying.

In September, Ross told Reuters that he would like to buy a regional bank, but critcized the way the government was handling the bailout.

“I am disturbed about the slippery slope that we have gotten into, where if you’re stupid but really big the government will bail you out; if you’re stupid but medium-sized, you die. That’s going to encourage very bad behavior by very big institutions. I think that’s a terrible pattern to set.”

Ross made his fortune by buying distressed companies in the steel, coal and textile industries and nursing them back to health.

(Photo credit: Brendan McDermid, Reuters)