Commercial lending

The turmoil at New York Community Bancorp resumed Thursday with the departure of CEO Thomas Cangemi. The embattled regional bank, which also recorded a $2.4 billion goodwill impairment charge and disclosed other new problems, saw its share price plunge.

Property lenders have often been willing to work with borrowers since the pandemic upended commercial real estate. Increasingly, their patience is running out. 

Investors have hammered the New Jersey-based lender following the turmoil at New York Community Bancorp. But Valley executives say there are key differences between the two real estate-focused banks, and they express confidence that the bank's underwriting will hold up again this cycle.

The volume of loans coming due swelled 40% from an earlier estimate by the Mortgage Bankers Association of $659 billion, a surge attributed to loan extensions and other delays rather than new transactions.

The regional bank announced a leadership shakeup on Wednesday, capping a tumultuous week in which shareholders became spooked about its exposure to the commercial real estate sector.

The Irvine, California-based senior housing and assisted living property firm opened Wednesday at $12.85, after it sold 56 million shares for $12 and closed at $13.22.

Former Flagstar CEO Alessandro DiNello, who had been New York Community's nonexecutive chairman, was named executive chairman after the Long Island bank's stock price fell by more than 59% in a week. New York Community also issued updates on both its deposit situation and its search for a new chief risk officer.

A day after the regional bank's stock tumbled on tough fourth-quarter results and some austerity moves, observers debated whether management just needs time to build enough capital to catch up with growth or if it is still too overexposed in multifamily lending.

The parent company of Flagstar Bank surprised investors by slashing its dividend, charging off two large real-estate loans and preparing for more trouble in the office and multifamily sectors.

Cullen/Frost in Texas, BankUnited in Florida and Bank OZK in Arkansas are among the banks that have, at least for now, allayed investors' fears about their exposure to the CRE sector.

The Salt Lake City bank says that it doesn't expect major losses, even though its problem loans grew at the end of 2023.

The San Francisco-based bank warned for months that charge-offs were likely to start rising as some office-related loans went bad. It began to happen in the fourth quarter, which could be an omen for regional banks that have larger concentrations in the office sector.

More clarity around values and an urgent need to address looming debt maturities are expected to spark more deals, a report from Jones Lang LaSalle said.

The agency plans to restrict access to a system that provides borrower tax returns to mortgage lenders beginning June 30. Left out of the loop, small-business lenders say getting credit to borrowers will become more difficult as a result.

The deadline for a $28 million deal between Bancorp 34 and CBOA Financial was pushed later into 2024 after Bancorp 34, the buyer, announced it would restate third-quarter results to reflect a significant loss tied to a worsening commercial real estate credit.

Remote work trends and high interest rates have substantially reduced the values of U.S. office buildings. A new academic paper estimates the extent of the deterioration, suggesting that there is perhaps more stress ahead for banks than is widely anticipated.

Analysts agree that the Long Island-based bank will probably absorb some losses due to its exposure to struggling segments of the commercial real estate market. But they differ on the extent of the likely damage.

The head of the short-selling firm Muddy Waters said he's short Blackstone Mortgage Trust, saying the publicly traded real estate investment trust is exposed to a perfect storm of economic conditions hitting commercial real estate and may face a liquidity crisis. 

Rep. Maxine Waters pressed executives from City National Bank, PNC Financial Services and Wells Fargo on opening branches in her California district and upholding promises made from recent merger agreements or consent orders.

The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.