The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2024, Tougher Rent Laws Are Behind Trouble At NYCB
When New York Community Bancorp posted large losses last month and warned of more difficulties to come, it pointed to a significant cause for concern: troubled loans in a sinking corner of the New York City apartment market.
NYCB is the city’s largest lender on rent-stabilized apartments. About $18 billion of its loans are backed by the city’s rent-stabilized units, representing more than 20% of its total loan book.
Many of these loans were made when developers had more flexibility to upgrade rent-stabilized units and then boost the rent to market rate, or convert them to condominiums.
