Credit

Low rates and intense competition might lead some banks to ease underwriting standards in 2021, when the economy may not yet have recovered.

Commercial real estate loans are vulnerable as financial assistance for tenants winds down and might not be fully renewed. Late rent payments could rise, leading lenders to press landlords to pay up.

Uncertainties in the job market drove mortgage credit availability down again, falling to the lowest point since March 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve could ease capital rules, foster the creation of special-purpose banks and take other steps to strengthen minority communities and businesses without legislation being sought in Congress — if it has the will to do so, experts say.

Conditions have improved for the first time since November.

While Black homeownership just rose to its highest level in 16 years, it's still the lowest of any racial demographic and 29 percentage points behind white people.

Other regionals set more aside for loan losses than the Cleveland bank did in the second quarter, and its ratio of reserves to total loans is slightly lower, too. But Key executives say the portfolio is balanced and holding up well despite the pandemic’s economic toll.

As the coronavirus created uncertainty for the housing market, underwriting standards tightened further in June.

How the mortgage and housing industries react to the current civil rights moment could shape policies and bridge the homeownership divide for the Black community.

As revenue-starved retailers fall further behind on rent payments, landlords' cash flow will be strained, and defaults on commercial real estate loans could rise.