Many member companies of ICSC are experiencing an unprecedented lack of credit capacity from any source while simultaneously grappling with the aftermath of the worst holiday shopping season in 40 years. Since we believe that shopping centers and their retail tenants are the fabric of every community in this country, ICSC is working to help mitigate the impact of the economic downturn for our membership.
ICSC Investment Incentive Proposal Gains Traction
ICSC is moving forward with a proposal that was unveiled before the ICSC Board of Trustees last month and is presenting it to Capitol Hill as an incremental solution to the current credit crisis in commercial real estate. The concept provides temporary tax incentives to attract new equity to existing commercial real estate projects. The incentives include accelerated depreciation on the investment and deduction of losses without being subject to passive loss limits.
ICSC’s proposal is designed to attract new equity capital to commercial real estate, with the requirement that the new funds be used to pay down commercial bank loans of existing projects, thereby reducing the excessive debt ratios that threaten the commercial real estate and banking sectors, as well as the broader economy. If enacted, this concept should not only assist ICSC’s largest segment of members (small and medium private owner/operators) but also community banks and Main Street businesses around the country. With that in mind, ICSC is working with property owners, lenders and regulators and has received “buy-in” from all three groups.
The ICSC Global Public Policy staff continues their outreach to Congressional offices with a special emphasis on members of the Congressional tax-writing and financial services committees. Furthermore, ICSC is working with the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) and the American Bankers Association (ABA) to collect additional data and support for the proposal. ICSC presented the proposal to the Real Estate Roundtable’s (RER) Tax Policy Advisory Committee at its winter meeting last week and has also reached out to the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and numerous other commercial real estate groups to garner their backing.
News:Feb 26 Letter to House Financial Services Committee
TARP Watchdog Says Commercial Real Estate Loans Pose Danger (2-11-10)
Bailout Panel Cites Commercial Real Estate Danger (2-11-10)
Archive:
Developers Diversified Seeks $400 Million CMBS Deal (11-9-09)
Real Estate Groups Push For Adjustment To Recent REMIC Change
CMBS Savior? Developers Diversified Deal Is Nearer (11-4-09)
Banks Get New Rules On Property (10-31-09)
Fed’s Tarullo Shakes Up Bank Rules (10-27-09)
Commercial Real Estate Lender Capmark Seeks Bankruptcy Protection (10-27-09)
Question Marks Still Remain For PPIP (10-22-09)
Debt-Market Paralysis Deepens Credit Drought (10-6-09)
Commercial Credit Crunch Means We May Not Be Out Of This Yet (8-21-09)
CMBS Coming To Life With TALF-Assisted Transactions (8-12-09)
Beige Book: Tight Credit, Weak Fundamentals Stifle CRE (8-06-09)
Letter from Members of Congress to Treasury and Federal Reserve Urging Extension of TALF Program (7-31-09)
Blurring Once Bright Lines (5-5-09)
Stress Test Results Bode Ill for Real Estate Finance (4-30-09)
Mortgage Group Braces for General Growth Fallout (4-28-09)
Credit Crunch Hits The Malls (4-26-09)
Unstructured Finance: TALF Doesn’t Need Home Runs To Suceed (4-24-09)
The Looming Crisis In Commercial Real Estate (4-22-09)
Bailout acronym soup: A look at the government’s financial bailout programs
CMBS Bondholders Turn Up Heat on Frozen Capital Markets (4-16-09)
Real-Estate Industry Pushes Fed to Lengthen TALF Terms (4-16-09)
TALF Needs Chaperon Before Investors Will Dance (4-14-09)
REITs Slide on Goldman Announcement (4-14-09)
Investors Starting to Buy Bargain-Priced Commercial Debt
Commercial Property Faces Crisis
MBA: Commercial/Multifamily Originations Down 80% from Year Ago
Life Insurance Companies Indirectly Invest in CRE Market
