Real-Estate Doom Loop Threatens America’s Banks
Real-Estate Doom Loop Threatens America’s Banks Regional banks’ exposure to commercial real estate is more substantial than it appears Bank OZK had two branches in rural Arkansas when chief executive officer George Gleason bought it in 1979. The Little Rock lender today has billions of dollars in commercial real-estate loans, including for properties in Miami and Manhattan, where it is helping fund the construction of a 1,000-foot-tall office and luxury residential tower on Fifth Avenue. Regional banks across the country followed a similar playbook, gorging on commercial real-estate loans and related investments in big [...]