On Thursday, October 12, the House Financial Services Committee (Chairman Hensarling, R-TX, Ranking Member Waters, D-CA) held a markup of several bills, including HR 2148, the Clarifying Commercial Real Estate Loans Act, sponsored by Rep. Pittenger (R-NC) and David Scott (D-GA). The bill was approved by the Committee in a strong show of bipartisan support by a vote of 59-1. NAR, along with other commercial real estate industry groups, sent a coalition letter of support for the bill ahead of the markup.
HR 2148 provides guidance to the Basel III "High Volatility Commercial Real Estate" (HVCRE) risk-weight category for lenders, by defining which types of loans should be considered HVCRE and in what circumstances the higher risk-weight category (150%) should be applied by lenders. It would provide much-needed clarity to the Basel III regulations which are broad and have created confusion within the lending community.
NAR will continue to advocate for this important legislation to be voted on by the full House and work with the Senate to get companion legislation introduced and passed there.