CREF Policy Update Feb. 3, 2022

Commercial and multifamily developments and activities from MBA relevant to your business and our industry.

We can’t wait to see you all in San Diego, where over 2,000 commercial real estate professionals have registered to attend MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention & Expo.

1. Los Angeles County Eviction Moratorium Extended to the End of the Year   

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to extend the county’s eviction moratorium until the end of 2022.

• Why it matters: While California’s statewide eviction moratorium has expired, there are still several local eviction moratoriums throughout the state.
• What’s next: MBA continues to follow local eviction moratoriums. Click here. 

For more information, please contact Grant Carlson at (202) 557-2765.

2. ESG/CLIMATE RESOURCES

White House Announces Green Building Partnership with States and Localities

The White House announced that the Administration is teaming up with states and cities to launch the Building Performance Standards Coalition, a partnership between federal and state governments to reduce building emissions by encouraging the development and enactment of building performance standards. The Building Performance Standards Coalition consists of 33 state and local governments and encompasses 20 percent of the country’s building footprint and 22 percent of its population. The goal of the coalition is to advance building-performance legislation or regulation in each local or state jurisdiction by 2024, and to use federal assistance and resources to provide technical and policy assistance as states and localities implement building performance standards.

• Why it matters: The acceleration of more stringent building emission standards, including possible fines and penalties for noncompliance, could have an impact commercial and multifamily borrowers that could affect credit risk.

What’s next: MBA will continue to track developments related to the Building Performance Standards Coalition for impacts on commercial real estate finance.

ECB Banking Supervision Launches 2022 Climate-Risk Stress Testing

On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) launched new supervisory climate risk stress tests to analyze how prepared banks are to deal with climate-related shocks. The new tests are considered to be a learning exercise and will have no direct capital impact. Large EU banks are the only financial institutions that are required to provide explicit climate-risk projections. The non-binding stress tests focus largely on qualitative risk assessments. 

• Why it matters: The results of the climate stress testing may inform U.S. regulator approaches towards management of climate-related financial risk.
• What’s next: The tests will be conducted during the first half of 2022, with results expected later in the year. 

For more information, please contact Adrian Ballinger at (202) 557-2774.

3. State Trackers

• State eviction moratorium and legislative activity tracker available here.

For more information, please contact William Kooper at (202) 557-2737 or Grant Carlson at (202) 557-2765.

6. Upcoming MBA Education Webinars on Critical Industry Issues

MBA Education continues to deliver timely programming that covers the spectrum of challenges, obstacles and solutions pertaining to our industry. Below, please see a list of upcoming webinars – which are complimentary to MBA members:

• Fair Lending and Redlining, Part I – Overview of Regulations and Enforcement – February 7
• Mortgage Servicing Spotlight: Best Practices for Managing Borrower Communications – February 8
• Fair Lending and Redlining, Part II – Managing and Maintaining Your Compliance Program – February 9
• Successful Recruiting in a Changing Marketplace – February 10
• CONVERGENCE: The 2022 Legislative Outlook for Affordable Housing – February 17

MBA members can register for any of the above events and view recent webinar recordings.

For more information, please contact David Upbin at (202) 557-2931.