Demand trends were mixed in the third quarter, with consumers showing more willingness than businesses to take on new debt, according to the Fed’s most recent survey on bank lending practices.
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.
Commercial real estate companies are among those left out of the Federal Reserve’s middle-market relief program, but House members said they need government-backed financing to navigate the pandemic as much as anyone.
With only a fraction of the funds allocated being used, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is considering tweaks to the middle-market rescue program in an appeal to lenders wary of taking on added risk.
Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said about 300 lenders have signed on to the program and that the central bank is committed to making adjustments that could attract more borrowers.
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.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks took the extraordinary step of wading into the debate over when it was appropriate to reopen businesses.
Lenders implemented stricter underwriting across all loan types in the first quarter as the pandemic upended the economy, the Federal Reserve said in its survey of loan officers.
