Banking Crisis building -- don't see a lot of this in the headlines
Banks as far apart as New York, Tokyo and Zurich have reported mounting losses on lending to the troubled commercial property sector in recent days. The renewed turmoil comes almost a year on from a banking crisis that led to the collapse of three US regional lenders and the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse.
On Wednesday, New York Community Bancorp attempted to
reassure investors that it has enough cash to stay afloat after the stock
shed about 60% of its value over the past eight days and ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the bank’s credit grade to junk.
Last week, the troubled US regional lender reported a surprise $252 million loss for the fourth quarter, a big chunk of which was tied to loans for office buildings. It also set aside $552 million in the quarter to absorb potential losses on loans, up sharply from $62 million in the previous quarter.