Banks Targeting CRE for Lending

Banks are focusing more effort on commercial real estate as an important source of lending, according to a survey conducted by the American Bankers Association (ABA).

The trade group found that 82% of banks surveyed plan to increase their capital concentration in commercial real estate, and 9% of those surveyed indicated they already had 300% or more capital concentration focused in this lending sector.

Another interesting metric is that 35% of respondents indicated their CRE lending had increased from a year ago. One potentially sour note in the survey, however, was that regulatory guidance on commercial real estate risk management might lead to a “measurable reduction” in credit availability.