Multifamily

Small increases in commercial real estate loan volumes, particularly at midsize banks, may be indicators that the sector has weathered the worst of the pandemic. Construction loan originations, which tend to fall sharply during a recession, are leading the way.

At first the deal seemed an unlikely marriage of two mortgage-heavy companies. But acquiring the Michigan company would help New York Community accomplish its two chief goals — reducing deposit costs and its concentration of multifamily loans — while giving it the scale to pursue more deals.

While loan performance is improving in aggregate, some borrowers remained unaware of the relief available or were unable to access it, according to the Research Institute for Housing America.

First Foundation is relocating its corporate headquarters to Dallas, where the tax burden is lighter and it sees more opportunity to beef up lending, add wealth management clients and pursue acquisitions of community banks.

The company is exploring a range of options to diversify its balance sheet, but new CEO Thomas Cangemi says the best plan of attack is to merge with or acquire another institution.

The multifamily lender named Michael Levine as board chairman, succeeding Dominick Ciampa, who held the role for 10 years. The move comes less than a week after longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora abruptly retired and was replaced by Thomas Cangemi.

The recent stimulus law’s relief for renters and extension of the federal eviction ban were meant to ward off a housing crisis. But owners of 1- to 4-unit dwellings still face mounting mortgage and property tax debts, and delinquencies could start rising soon — followed by foreclosures.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

Longtime chairman and CEO Joseph Ficalora will step aside Thursday as head of the regional bank and be succeeded by CFO Thomas Cangemi.

Lenders pushed back against the notion that city dwellers' pandemic-driven flight to suburbia would hurt them. They say fewer landlords have sought deferrals as vacancy rates remain low and rent collections have stabilized.

The agency said property owners can enter into new or modified forbearance plans if they have a hardship due to the coronavirus, but the landlords must agree not to kick out renters solely for nonpayment of rent.

Delinquencies have been ticking up since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Capital One is warning of more pain unless the government provides additional relief to tenants and landlords.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will extend the same GSE benchmarks of the past three years into 2021.

The movement encouraging investment in banks run by African American management teams gained huge momentum in recent weeks, but a spat between one of those lenders and an activist investor highlights the potential downside.

Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.

People's United in Connecticut is letting the loans run off its books as it invests in higher-yielding commercial loans.

Population shifts and the explosion of e-commerce will upend commercial real estate lending while heightened demand for clean energy, not to mention pressure from investors, will diminish banks’ enthusiasm for fossil-fuel financing.

Shares in the lender fell after it reported lower third-quarter profits, said nonperforming assets rose and cautioned that it had lost multifamily loan deals to competitors offering easier terms.

Malaga Financial has no intention of diversifying its portfolio despite heavier competition and potential funding challenges.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is revising the multifamily loan purchase caps for the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase affordable housing.