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EXECUTIVE WATCH GlobeSt.com:
BY ANTHONY J. LOPINTO
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| EXECUTIVE WATCH
is a weekly column featured on GlobeSt.com, the leading online real estate
news site. Tony LoPinto, the CEO of Equinox Partners has been the
author of this widely read column.
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Summer Dance Card
By Anthony J. LoPinto
July 1, 2008
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I can't believe it's already July 1st, one year after the credit crisis began to emerge, and the turmoil in the financial markets is growing. Unfortunately, the situation appears to be on a downward spiral with no immediate relief in sight. The real issue we are facing is that the woes of the financial system are putting serious strain on the economy. Goldman Sachs reported yesterday that in the past 13 weeks, total bank loans, leases and securities holdings have fallen at an annual rate of 9.1%, the fastest decline since 1973. It was that year that we saw the beginning of a serious credit crunch and real estate recession emerge. I was a young real estate loan officer with Bankers Trust watching first hand as aggressive regulators and bank credit officers began squeezing more and more credit out of the system. We've been to this dance before (again in the early '90s), and it spells big trouble for real estate as credit tightening brings borrowers to their knees, this time as large pools of commercial mortgage debt comes due with very big gaps in the loan-to-value. It's not going to be a pretty picture, but it sure will make a market for workout specialists.
© 2008 - GlobeSt.com, all rights reserved.
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