Expect Tight Credit Conditions To Persist As Commercial Mortgage Defaults Rise

With the default rate on commercial mortgages held by U.S. depository institutions projected to reach 5% this year and not peak until 2011, the extremely tight credit conditions imposed by banks on borrowers are not likely to loosen anytime soon. So says Sam Chandan, global chief economist and executive vice president with Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

“If you believe that not only are we at a 15-year high in terms of the default rate of commercial mortgages being held by banks — but that there is the potential for that default rate to continue to climb over the next couple of years — then history tells us we must concede that credit conditions at least on the part of community and regional banks will remain unusually constrained over the next couple of years,” says Chandan.