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Some of the biggest banks in America are quietly selling their exposure to a troubled sector of the US economy, according to a new report.
The banks are beginning to dump commercial real estate loans in a push to “cut their losses,” reports the New York Times.
The Times points to Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, which recently sold portions of a troubled $1.7 billion loan backed by office buildings in New York, San Francisco, and Boston, as primary examples.
Capital One has also offloaded a $1 billion portfolio that included a large number of office loans in New York.
Although the value of the loans being sold by the banks is small compared to the $2.5 trillion in commercial real estate loans owned by all US banks, the apparent change in tone is remarkable.
“…These steps indicate a grudging acceptance by some lenders that the banking industry’s strategy of ‘extend and pretend’ is running out of steam, and that many property owners – especially owners of office buildings – are going to default on mortgages.
That means big losses for lenders are inevitable and bank earnings will suffer.”
The commercial real estate market continues to suffer from the rise of work-at-home culture.
Nationwide, 625 commercial real estate foreclosures were recorded in March, representing a 117% surge year-over-year, according to new numbers from the real estate data provider ATTOM.
California fared the worst, posting 187 foreclosures, marking a 405% surge from March of 2023.
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