043. Beyond the Numbers: Small Banks and the CRE Loan Landscape

Beyond the Numbers: Small Banks and the CRE Loan Landscape




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Episode Transcript:

Today, we're delving into the role of smaller banks in the commercial real estate sector. A recent analysis from Bloomberg is shedding light on a topic that's raising eyebrows in the financial world.

You might have heard that regional banks hold a significant 70% of commercial real estate loans. However, Bloomberg is challenging this number, suggesting that smaller banks, those beyond the top 25, actually hold about 69% of these loans on domestically chartered commercial banks' balance sheets. But here's the twist – these aren't the only players in the lending game.

As of March's end, both large and small domestic banks collectively hold around 47% of all commercial real estate loans, according to Federal Reserve data. Bloomberg's calculations indicate that approximately 32% of all this real estate debt is with those smaller banks beyond the top 25.

For those keen on figures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chips in, stating that community banks, with assets ranging from $100 million to $10 billion, hold about 28% or $865 billion of commercial real estate loans on bank balance sheets.

Now, the real numbers. Bank-held commercial real estate loans hit a massive $3 trillion by Q1 2023's end, as revealed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. This concentration of loans is notably soaring for community banks, a trend seen even before the pandemic made its entrance.

To round it off, data from MSCI Real Capital Analytics joins the conversation, noting that the share of commercial real estate loans from local and regional banks surged from 15% in late 2018 to an impressive 31% today.

So there you have it – smaller banks might not be holding the reins as tightly as once thought, but they remain a significant player in the commercial real estate lending arena. Keep those calculators handy, because the equations in the financial world are always evolving.

This is Tyler Cauble, signing off