
Commercial property loans are joining deposit flight and bond portfolios as the biggest perceived risk for US banks as rattled investors fret about lenders’ strength following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Strains in the $5.6tn market for commercial real estate loans have deepened in recent months as the Federal Reserve’s year-long series of interest rate rises leads to sharply higher borrowing costs and weakening property valuations. Analysts fear any further reduction in lending — say, from businesses more keen on hoarding deposits following two shock bank runs in a week — could make a perilous situation worse.