Federal "Opportunity Zones" that reduce exposure on capital gains could draw rich investors — and commercial lenders along with them — into economic development projects in thousands of troubled communities around the country.
Wells Fargo puts two top execs on leave as scandal's reach grows; regional banks freed from SIFI label lobbying regulators hard for more relief; FDIC to launch innovation office to help banks compete with fintechs; and more from this week's most-read stories.
The company is facing criticism after a big chargeoff on two properties, showing that investors have little patience when a risky business model shows signs of distress.
The Arkansas company, which has faced criticism over its concentration in commercial real estate, charged off nearly $46 million tied to a pair of properties in the Carolinas.
Bank of America is showing more interest in commercial real estate lending while other lenders are pulling back, executives said. But they also said that they learned their lesson from the financial crisis and will proceed cautiously.
The House of Representatives passed two bills that would tie appraisal waivers for Small Business Administration loans to bank rules for commercial real estate loans, despite objections from the Appraisal Institute about its members being cut out of transactions.