America’s fragile high street banks are bracing themselves for a fresh financial crunch as a wave of commercial property mortgages go sour on offices, shops and factories, causing losses of up to $300bn (£192bn) hitting nearly 3,000 small- and medium-sized financial institutions.
A congressional oversight panel charged with scrutinising the Obama administration’s bailout efforts has warned that $1.4tn of loans covering commercial premises will reach maturity between 2011 and 2014. After a plunge in property prices, nearly half of these loans are underwater, with borrowers owing more than their underlying property is worth.
An analysis by the panel found that 2,988 of America’s 8,100 banks have potentially dangerous exposure to commercial property loans. The impact could damage hopes of a US economic recovery and could cause a further squeeze in the availability of credit to consumers and businesses.
“Are we arguing that this is a serious problem that we need to get in front of? The answer is yes,” said Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the oversight panel. “It’s like throwing a handful of sand into the economic recovery.”
She said that if banks see that their commercial property liabilities are mounting, they will hold back on lending elsewhere: “They’ll tend to husband their money so that it’s not available for small business loans.”
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