Commercial lending

The $1.25 trillion-asset Home Loan Bank System collectively issued $303.9 billion in discount notes and bonds last week, with demand tapering dramatically from $111.8 billion on Monday to $21.7 billion by Friday.

The system of 11 regional banks issued a combined $137 billion of bonds and discount notes on Tuesday and Wednesday, after selling $112 billion on Monday, the largest single day of issuance in its 90-year history.

Banks and other lenders revived special-purpose credit programs after racial-equity protests in 2020 prompted them to reexamine their services for historically underserved groups. Now they're taking those initiatives nationwide.

The case involved a customer who was charged $100,000 in legal fees when he tried to pay off a commercial mortgage early. After the borrower waged a nearly decadelong legal fight, a Florida court ordered the bank to reimburse a portion of the fees.

Some of the biggest lenders to U.S. offices are weighing sales of loans on the properties as regulators heighten scrutiny on commercial real estate debt portfolios. 

Major efforts are underway to eliminate discriminatory practices in property valuations.

In a policy proposal published Tuesday, Fed staffers called for supervisory changes to accommodate banks with commercial real estate loans still reeling from COVID.

Banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have pulled back on financing for offices and other commercial real estate following a record burst of lending in the first half of this year. 

A new group called MoreThanFair aims to establish the lines between fair and unfair lending, to set best practices for the use of AI in lending and to lessen the stigma of fintech lenders.

BofA has launched two programs, one focused on increasing homeownership for Black and Hispanic Americans, and the other on small businesses owned by women and minorities that buy commercial real estate in federal opportunity zones.