Shuttered Signature Bank is third-largest CRE lender in NYC

Signature Bank, which was closed over the weekend by regulators and is set to reopen Monday as Signature Bridge Bank, was the third most active commercial real estate lender in New York City over the past three years, with $13.4 billion in loans, according to a PincusCo analysis of property records. The analysis is based on loans of $5 million and up.

Signature and New York Community Bank, now Flagstar Bank, are the top high-volume multifamily lenders in the city. According to PincusCo data, Signature Bank has lent or refinanced more properties than any other bank since January 1, 2020, with 882 loans, only ten more than its chief rival, Flagstar Bank, formerly known as New York Community Bank.

Signature Bank lends almost entirely to multifamily and to cash flowing properties. PincusCo data only show two ground up construction loans in the past three years.

The New York State Department of Financial Services closed Signature on Sunday and announced it would reopen Monday under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation receivership as it looks for a buyer. All depositors will be made whole, according to the FDIC press release, and borrowers “should continue making loan payments as usual.”

The most-active borrowers of Signature Bank loans over the past three years is similar but not exactly the same as the top owners of multifamily. A&E Real Estate Holdings is the top borrower, with nearly $1.3 billion in loans made, followed by SDG Management and then FBE Limited. Other top multifamily owners such as Cammeby’s International Group have no loans above $5 million with Signature Bank, instead borrowing from NewPoint Real Estate Capital, Flagstar Bank and a few others.