Investors show no appetite for Fed program to bolster commercial real estate loans

September 24th, 2009 Colony Financial prices initial public offeringLOS ANGELES — Colony Financial Inc. said it priced an initial public offering of 12.5 million shares of its common stock at $20 per share.

September 16th, 2009 Fed tightens review of commercial real-estate riskWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is stepping up its scrutiny of commercial real-estate lending at smaller banks, according to a Fed official. Instead of reviewing only individual banks, Fed examiners also are comparing results across the industry to better assess broader risks, the official says.

September 16th, 2009 Fed tightens review of commercial real estate riskWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is stepping up its scrutiny of commercial real estate loans at smaller banks, where delinquency rates have risen sharply. Instead of reviewing individual banks, Fed examiners are comparing results across the industry to better assess broader risks, a Fed official said Wednesday.

September 15th, 2009 IRS issues rules to ease mortgage refinancingWASHINGTON — The IRS issued new rules Tuesday designed to make it easier to refinance some commercial real estate loans in an effort to curb the number of defaults. The rules would allow commercial loans that are part of investment pools known as Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits, or REMICs, to be refinanced without triggering tax penalties for investors.

September 1st, 2009 4 firms to help investors tap Fed lending planWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Tuesday named four more financial firms to help investors tap a government program intended to spark lending at cheaper rates to consumers and businesses. The companies are: CastleOak Securities, Loop Capital, Wells Fargo Securities and Williams Capital Group.

August 21st, 2009 Fitch: Banks face more difficult credit trendsNEW YORK — Fitch Ratings analysts said Friday they expect U.S. banking companies to continue to face rising credit costs and a difficult operating environment in the coming months.

July 16th, 2009 Commercial real estate lending program picks upWASHINGTON — Investors' appetite picked up this month for a government program aimed at spurring lending in the troubled commercial real estate market. The program is part of larger consumer lending effort called the Term-Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, which figures prominently in efforts by the Fed and the Obama administration to ease credit, stabilize the financial system and help the economy.

July 9th, 2009 Fed focused on commercial loansWASHINGTON — A Federal Reserve official says the central bank is paying extra attention to banks' books as losses from sour commercial real estate loans keep mounting. Jon D. Greenlee, associate director of the Fed's division of banking supervision, says in remarks prepared for a Congressional hearing Thursday that the central bank has stepped up training of its bank examiners so they are ready to deal with rising losses from the commercial real estate industry.

July 9th, 2009 Commercial real estate woes growWASHINGTON — Owners of shopping malls, hotels and offices are defaulting on their loans at an alarming rate, and the commercial real estate market is not expected to hit bottom for three more years, industry experts warned Thursday. "The commercial real estate time bomb is ticking," said Rep.

July 7th, 2009 July demand dips for gov't consumer credit programWASHINGTON — Investors on Tuesday showed a smaller appetite for participating in a government program intended to spur lending to consumers and small businesses at lower rates. Investors requested $5.4 billion worth of loans, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

June 16th, 2009 Commercial real-estate loans draw no interestWASHINGTON — Investors showed no appetite for a government plan intended to boost the availability of commercial real-estate loans. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says it received no investor requests for loans by Tuesday's deadline.

June 2nd, 2009 Investors seek $11.5B from consumer loan programWASHINGTON — Investors on Tuesday showed a bigger appetite for participating in a government program intended to boost the availability of loans to consumers and small businesses at cheaper rates. Investors requested $11.5 billion worth of loans, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

May 5th, 2009 Investors request $10.6B in TALF loans from FedWASHINGTON — Demand surged this month from investors seeking to participate in a government program aimed at jump-starting lending to consumers and small businesses. Investors requested $10.6 billion worth of loans, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday.

May 1st, 2009 New TALF program launches in JuneWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it will launch a much-awaited program in June to bolster commercial real-estate lending. And, to help make the program more attractive to investors, the Fed will provide longer, five-year loans.

May 1st, 2009 AP sources: Fed mulls longer loans as part of TALFWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is considering allowing longer loan terms in a program aimed at bolstering commercial real-estate lending, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The aim is to make the yet-to-be-launched program more attractive to investors.