Commercial lending

Prospective buyers of the boarded-up East Hills Mall recently reached out to Bakersfield city officials with a new vision for demolishing and redeveloping the property into a village-like mixed-use center.

The second half of 2019 is a prudent time to examine the CRE market in the context of an inevitable slowdown, taking into account how the current landscape is impacting lending practices.

Kristy Kim was an immigrant success story with a degree from Berkeley and a lucrative job — except her lack of credit history precluded her from getting a car loan. She started TomoCredit to help the many young folks who struggle to qualify for a credit card.

Blooma has developed a software product that combs databases to create property profiles for commercial real estate lenders. It can drastically cut origination costs and approval times and help banks identify safer loans, the company says.

Behind strong job markets, the shortage in housing supply and more millennials moving out, 2019 projects to be a record year for multifamily originations.

Robert Shapiro, the former chief executive officer of Woodbridge Group of Companies, pleaded guilty to running a $1.3 billion fraud that caused more than 7,000 investors to lose money, according to prosecutors.

There are opportunities to make loans for strip malls and regional distribution centers but executives need to put the right risk management in place.

Mall landlords accustomed to offering rent reductions to ailing retailers are mulling a new strategy to forestall the industry's collapse: positioning themselves as lenders to tenants struggling to stay afloat.

Credible Labs, which lets consumers shop for the best rates on student loans, mortgages and other credits, would be part of an evolving digital strategy at Fox after the multibillion-dollar sale of many of its traditional media assets to Disney.

It’s hard to time the next economic slowdown. But lenders, many with lingering memories of the financial crisis, are taking steps now to limit exposure in commercial real estate, construction and other loan segments.

Bankers are downplaying such concerns, but others say a sharp decline in values on rent-regulated buildings means landlords will have less cash flow to acquire new properties.

The bill, similar to legislation that passed the chamber last year, would permit the inclusion of items such as rent and telecom payments to help consumers build their credit profiles.

As budget questions loom over the most popular Small Business Administration loans, lenders have embraced the previously overshadowed 504 program after a key policy tweak.

The Minneapolis bank reported growth across several lending and noninterest income categories in the second quarter, which offset net interest margin pressures and declining deposit service fees.

Life insurance companies increased their mortgage investments to levels higher than historical norms, creating more potential danger for their portfolios in the event of a real estate downturn, a Fitch Ratings report said.

The bank said it could record a $7 million charge in the second quarter after the client unexpectedly closed in May.

New York's sweeping rewrite of rent stabilization laws could pose a credit risk to lenders that finance capital improvements to regulated apartment properties, according to a report Monday by Fitch Ratings.

Banks fear that more competition from nonbanks in commercial real estate will drive down pricing and lead to a relaxation of terms.

Lenders are turning to the Farm Service Agency to backstop more loans as their Midwestern customers are beset by flooding in addition to the U.S. trade war with China and volatile crop prices. Can the FSA meet the increased demand?

Economic strength bolstered the performance of loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities with delinquencies improving for the seventh consecutive quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.