Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Malls Next on Bailout List

The ONLY ONE who NEVER GOT ONE was YOU, taxpayers!

You just BAILED EVERYONE ELSE OUT with YOUR OWN MONEY -- but NOT YOURSELF!!

They ain't even loaning it to you with interest!

"US developers seek aid from government" by Bloomberg News | December 23, 2008

NEW YORK - The biggest property developers in the United States are asking to be included in the federal government's efforts to jump-start commercial lending, said Jeff DeBoer, president of the Washington-based Real Estate Roundtable.

The help could come through a new $200 billion loan program established to aid the market for car loans, student loans, and credit-card debt, or through a separate pool that would allow property owners to refinance mortgages, DeBoer said. The group represents property owners, developers, lenders, and management companies.

About $270 billion of mortgages on shopping malls, apartment complexes, and office buildings must be refinanced in 2009, according to Barclays estimates. Commercial loan defaults will accelerate as banks and insurance companies rein in lending to manage their balance sheets and as the market for commercial mortgage-backed securities stays shut, Fitch Ratings said in a Nov. 17 report.

"They are trying to alert members of Congress and the public to a very serious problem that is coming," DeBoer said of the developers. "Until the credit markets function again, this could be a serious problem." Commercial mortgages are usually written for a period of five to 10 years with the expectation they will then be refinanced, DeBoer said. That can't happen currently because banks are reluctant to lend....

Then WHERE did all that $$$ go, and why is the bankers' pockets bulging?

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