Stephen Blank

Stephen R. Blank joined ULI in December 1998 as Senior Fellow, Finance. His primary responsibilities include: expanding ULI’s real estate capital markets information and education programs; authoring real estate capital market commentary; participating as a principal researcher and adviser for the Emerging Trends in Real Estate series of publications; organizing and participating in real estate capital markets programs at ULI events worldwide; and participating in industry meetings, seminars, and conferences. Prior to joining ULI, Blank served from December 1993 to November 1998 as Managing Director, Real Estate Investment Banking of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. His responsibilities included: structuring, underwriting, and executing corporate financings including initial public offerings of common and preferred shares, unsecured debentures, and convertible bonds; property acquisitions, dispositions, and financing; and financial advisory services including mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, and recapitalizations.

It appears that the Federal regulators (comprised of the Securities Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Comptroller of the Currency) will shortly announce the long awaited proposed regulations requiring lenders to retain an economic interest in loans they securitize. Read ULI’s senior resident fellow, Stephen R. Blank’s, view of what we might see.
The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders continued to narrow week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-). The Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman Survey came in slightly over the past two weeks—we expect rates to remain at these levels barring a “shock” to the system for the foreseeable future.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has announced criteria for defining a Systematically Important Financial Institution, a bank “too big to fail.” Read what they listed as the five criteria they believe will help identify financial institutions whose failure would threaten both the global economy and financial system, and would be cause for heightened financial operating constraints.
The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed slightly week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
According to a recent report from Fitch, the percentage of commercial mortgage-backed securities loan balances that are delinquent at least 60 days or in foreclosure reached 8.76 percent, an increase of 17 basis points (0.17 percent) since January’s rate and 247 basis points (2.47 percent) over a year earlier. Fitch’s database includes approximately 37,000 loans totaling $416.9 billion. See details of the CMBS delinquencies by property sector.
The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed slightly week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
Fund raising activities in prior years were dampened by a combination of factors including performance of legacy properties, funds taking everything from huge write-downs and write-offs to mailing back the keys to the lender, vintage capital standing on the sidelines waiting to be invested, and investor caution. Read about what changed in 2010.
Read the encouraging news in the Federal Reserve’s most recent Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey, which reflects positive changes in the relaxing of their standards for commercial and industrial loans to large borrowers. Also read what is happening with respect to small borrowers, demand for commercial real estate financing, and lending standards for real estate loans.
Yesterday afternoon, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book economic survey of conditions in the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. The survey covered the period from January 1st through early February, 2011. Read this brief summary of the results of the survey of economic activity from the districts around the country.
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