Urge Congressional Support of CMBS and CRE Relief (June 15, 2020)

Monday, June 15, 2020

Dear ICSC Members

ICSC needs your help today to build Congressional support for a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell authored by Reps. Van Taylor (R‑TX), Denny Heck (D‑WA), Andy Barr (R‑KY) and Al Lawson, Jr. (D‑FL). The House letter asks the two leaders to create a relief fund for CMBS borrowers as well as to use their authority to provide broad federal assistance to the heavily impacted commercial real estate sector.
 
Industries (hotel, retail, multifamily housing, office, industrial) with CMBS debt have a particular challenge in that their loan covenants are governed by multiparty state law contracts, which typically prohibit additional indebtedness. Further, because bondholders of CMBS trusts expect principal and interest payments to be maintained, the flexibility to modify loans may take longer due to the CMBS servicing process. If this $540 billion market is left without assistance, we may witness a historic wave of foreclosures in the fall, permanently destroying jobs for Americans.
 
Please join us in advocating for a lending facility to be implemented to help these industries that were in good standing before this unforeseen crisis and, through no fault of their own, have seen a significant drop in revenue due to the pandemic.
 
The deadline to gather other House members' signatures is Wednesday, June 17. Please click below to quickly send an email to your Representative and request support of your business and our industry.

Thank you for your support.
 
Sincerely,
Tom McGee
President & CEO 
ICSC