Banks Slash U.K. Commercial Property Lending as Default Fears Mount
- New commercial real estate lending fell by 34% in first half
- Survey shows 22% of lenders made no new loans in the period
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Banks are putting the brakes on U.K. commercial real estate lending as the pandemic batters the economy and stokes fears about looming defaults by landlords.
New loans declined in the first half by 34% from a year earlier to 15.5 billion pounds ($20.2 billion), according to a report from The Business School in the City of London. More than a fifth of lenders surveyed said they made no new commercial property loans in the period.