SOURCE: Bloomberg

In this commentary by author John M. Berry we learn about the current status or the TARP proposal and the political challenges that exist at this critical point in time.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. is up to his ears trying to make the Troubled Asset Relief Program work. That's what he should be doing. He also ought to be pushing a really big economic stimulus plan.

Politically, it may be impossible, given a distaste for such a plan in the White House, the brief life left for the Bush administration and the intention on Capitol Hill to have only a short lame-duck session.

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An uptick in non-performing matured loans drove overall U.S. CMBS delinquencies six basis points (bps) higher in October to end the month at 0.51%, according to the latest U.S. CMBS loan delinquency index by Fitch Ratings.

"With CMBS issuance at a standstill and portfolio lenders cautiously managing their balance sheets, borrowers are facing increased difficulty accessing capital to refinance maturing loans," said Susan Merrick, Managing Director and CMBS Group Head.

"Given the illiquidity in the market, we expect the proportion and dollar balance of maturity defaults to continue to grow at a fast pace with delinquencies approaching close to 75 bps by the end of this year."

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SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

All around Washington, policy makers are scrambling to figure out how to get banks lending again. Lawmakers have criticized banks for not using new federal money to make loans and have threatened to place conditions on additional money. Regulators last week sent out a directive, encouraging banks not to hold back on lending.

But there's a flaw in that logic. Banks actually are lending at record levels. Their commercial and industrial loans, at $1.6 trillion in early November, were up 15% from a year earlier and grew at a 25% annual rate during the past three months, according to weekly Federal Reserve data. Home-equity loans, at $578 billion, were up 21% from a year ago and grew at a 48% annual rate in three months.

The numbers point to one of the great challenges of the crisis. The credit crunch is surely real, but it is complex and not easily managed. Banks are lending, but they're also under serious strain as they act as backstops to a larger problem -- the breakdown of securities markets.

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SOURCE: Portland Business Journal

As big banks sell off assets to shore up their capital, private investors are seizing the chance to make money.

Many of the assets are based on a collapsing real estate market that’s pushing down prices for buildings and the loans that financed them. Banks are even selling off some loans that aren’t directly linked to real estate to put more cash on their books.

Both established and startup firms want in on the profits they say are out there to be made.

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Many of our rates and terms are changing along with the rise and fall of the current market conditions. This week saw some of the lowest rates in quite some time. Be sure to check out the latest commercial loan rates here.