Industries

For banks, construction projects not only produce new branches and offices, but can build an image with the public — or tear it down.

The Long Island-based bank hasn't been profitable in eight quarters, but executives maintain that it's on the right path, citing more loan book diversity, lower expenses and an improved margin.

The Buffalo-based bank said Thursday that the paring of its CRE loan book, which has nearly halved in volume over the last three years, may be near its inflection point.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged skepticism around the central banks large-scale asset purchases during the pandemic, noting the Fed likely "should have stopped" sooner, but fell short of admitting that the purchase of MBS' contributed to housing disparities.

The Florida community bank, which raised $46 million earlier this summer, is moving ahead with its efforts to expand its national solar and renewable energy line of business.

Orlando-based Cogent Bank has hired a team to finance single-tenant net lease properties, an asset class characterized by exceptional credit quality.

In a letter Friday, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., called on Pulte to address housing unaffordability instead of concentrating on efforts to destabilize the Federal Reserve.

The Senate Banking Committee passed a housing package that includes funding for manufactured and other kinds of housing, but also includes an appraisal provision that mortgage bankers oppose.

Eagle Bancorp in Maryland took a major quarterly loss due to challenges in its office loan portfolio. It's one of many banks working to trim down their commercial real estate loan books.

The buyer said its $70 million cash-and-stock deal for Farmers State Bank will boost its presence in the northeast section of Ohio, and provide plenty of low-cost deposits

Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bankshares has sold $2 billion in performing commercial real estate loans to Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies. 

The Florida bank plans to expand its solar lending operations while Senate Republicans look to end most tax breaks for clean energy.

Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery was aiming for $1.5 billion in annual cost savings, but HSBC is forecasting hundreds of millions in extra real estate costs as it considers asking more of its employees to work from an office.

Primis Bank plans to sell an undisclosed amount of its 19% ownership stake in Panacea Financial, a digital-only lender focusing on medical professionals and veterinarians. The deal should yield $22 million.

A forthcoming bill from Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., would allow the Federal Housing Finance Agency director to set limits on executive pay at the Federal Home Loan banks.

Princeton Bancorp, which has $2.3 billion of assets, reported a sizable impairment charge tied to participation loans on a pair of office properties.

Credit risk transfers, which gained traction in 2022 and 2023 as banks sought to manage their capital levels, may now become a solution for lenders looking to reduce their exposure to commercial real estate loans.

The Long Island-based regional bank, which reported another quarterly loss Friday, continues to hire in the commercial-and-industrial lending sphere as it seeks to diversify its commercial real estate-heavy business.

As the risk of a recession rises, commercial real estate loans remain a major concern for banks and industry participants. One observer asked: "Is '25 the year where sellers start to capitulate, call a loser a loser, and move on?"

Financial services executives report seeing an increase in quantifiable value from AI investments in the fifth annual Broadridge survey.