In a Monday press conference, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres warned New Yorkers of the potential negative housing implications they could face in the wake of Signature Bank’s failure last month — cautioning that 479 Bronx properties and 19,750 units could be affected.
Signature Bank is one of the latest in a string of big bank collapses across the country that has caused ripple effects in the economy. The New York City bank that championed cryptocurrency lending closed its doors on March 12 after California-based institutions Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank — also big digital and crypto dealers — fell earlier last month due to instability with crypto deposits, customer withdrawals and plummeting stock prices.
Torres, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said on Monday he’s particularly concerned with now-failed Signature Bank’s loan portfolio — part of the institution’s assets at the time of its collapse — since it served as a major residential real estate lender in the city. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public trust in the country’s financial system, is now responsible for selling the bank’s residential New York City loans.
“The improper sale of Signature Bank’s residential real estate portfolio could have a detrimental impact on the affordability and quality of up to 80,000 units of housing, and it could endanger the stability of the tenants who live in those units,” said Torres, who represents the 15th Congressional District, including the South Bronx, which is one of the most poverty stricken areas in the U.S.
That’s 80,000 housing units across New York City (including 19,750 in the Bronx) encompassing 3,000 multi-family properties — 4% of which are already considered “distressed,” according to Torres’ office.
He outlined two potential risk factors: that the loans could be sold to a buyer who “brings…
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