Bridger: Banks Expect Strong CRE Lending

Banks are looking to maintain or expand their commercial real estate loan portfolios for the second half of the year while tightening their underwriting standards, according to a survey of lenders by San Francisco-based Bridger Commercial Funding.Eighty-six percent of the respondents see their commercial real estate lending volumes either remaining level or rising for the rest of the year, and 15% see higher loan volume for the second half. Just over a third (34%) of the bankers surveyed are optimistic about the sector, up from 27% at the beginning of 2003, the commercial real estate market intermediary said. "While their lending spigots are open, banks are illustrating discipline about the new loans they'll book," said Peter Grabell, Bridger's senior vice president of relationship management. The survey also found that commercial real estate portfolios are healthy overall, with 88% of the respondents reporting delinquency levels below 1% and little real estate owned. Multifamily (84%), retail (77%), and warehouse/industrial (70%) were reported to be the strongest-performing property types.