Rohit Mohindra | Head of Commercial Real Estate
ANZ Bank | Singapore

REIW Asia 2017 day 1 @ 11:40

Banks & Real Estate Financing: Where are we now?

Despite the belief that banks weren’t playing in the commercial real estate sector as much anymore, at the end of Q3 2015, banks and thrifts had a record USD $1.79 trillion of commercial real estate debt on their books, so what does the future hold?

• Are banks now only interested in senior debt or is there still some who will step further onto the risk curve and consider mezzanine?
• Does the emergence of private real estate debt funds create opportunities for banks to diversify their CRE investment strategy?
• Is the focus on senior debt purely a result of much tighter regulation, or is there simply a general risk aversion at this point? How much is increased regulation raising funding costs and eroding margins?
• Is there a preference for investing in specific asset classes or industries?
• What’s the M&A appetite within the banks?
• Is there any impact from the record Asia Pacific bond issuances in 2015?
• Which Asian markets provide the easiest opportunities for raising debt?