Commercial real estate lending

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.

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.

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.

BB&T's acquisition of SunTrust may make the combined company more of a contender in regional metro-area commercial mortgage lending, according to data provider CrediFi.

Housing advocates and Democratic lawmakers want to create more protections for tenants of rent-controlled apartments, but they are facing stiff opposition from property owners and the banks that lend to them.

The Los Angeles bank will take a $1.4 million hit to earnings after the multifamily properties sold for less than their book value.

A $54-million project to build upscale condominiums at the edge of downtown Detroit has been canceled, unable to get financing, and the Plan B is to put a hotel there.

With a second defendant pleading guilty to conspiracy, it was learned that a Watertown, N.Y., apartment complex is among dozens of rental properties in that state and several others that allegedly received $500 million in fraudulent bank loans.

Commercial and multifamily lending lags the technology available in the residential market. A look at how one expert thinks the gap could be closed.

Bank of Marin CEO Russ Colombo is tightening up pricing and terms, citing soaring real estate prices in markets like San Francisco.

Consumer lending should also be a bright spot, while mortgage lending could be suppressed by rising rates and tight housing supplies.

Freddie Mac issued its first non-low-income housing tax credit forward commitment, providing financing for an affordable housing development in Minnesota.

Richard Harra was also fined $300,000 for painting a false picture of the bank’s financial health at the height of the financial crisis.

The move allows the New York multifamily lender to make more loans without having to raise capital.

A low-rated segment of an index that most closely tracks the performance of U.S. mall mortgage loans saw its biggest decline in more than a year in October.

New York developer Silverstein Properties Inc. built a $4 billion pipeline of real estate deals just weeks after starting. None of the money was for buildings it will own.

Proposition 10 would give local jurisdictions a freer hand to restrict rents, but critics say that would lead to property devaluations. Some see an effect regardless of whether the measure passes.

The changes mandated by the recent regulatory relief law would narrow the definition of "high-volatility commercial real estate" exposures that get a higher risk weight.