9.4.20
As the pandemic continues to loom over the country, financial analysts are becoming more concerned about the CMBS market. “I don’t think anyone foresaw the devastation that COVID would wreak on commercial real estate and the CMBS market,” says Wells Fargo analyst and SFA CMBS Committee Co-Chair Lea Overby. As states enacted stay-at-home orders and companies implemented work-from-home protocols, many sectors of the CRE market began to feel the brunt of the economic crisis, impacting CMBS bonds. As CMBS delinquencies began to rise, many investors prepared to brace for losses. Some analysts have argued that this crisis should lead to more protections for the CMBS market. Other industry participants believe that Washington’s response to the CMBS crisis has not been sufficient, and that without significant intervention, the market will face significant long-term damage.