
歷經(jīng)數(shù)年低迷導(dǎo)致美國寫字樓空置后,,黑石集團(Blackstone Inc.)總裁喬恩·格雷(Jon Gray)認為寫字樓領(lǐng)域已迎來重新布局的契機,。其房地產(chǎn)交易團隊正準(zhǔn)備收購曼哈頓中城一棟50層建筑的股份,這是迄今為止最鮮明的信號,,表明該集團認為市場已為反彈做好準(zhǔn)備,。
與此同時,負責(zé)管理該公司商業(yè)按揭貸款信托的高管們,,仍在清理已變成壞賬的舊寫字樓貸款,。黑石按揭貸款信托(Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc.)在去年最后一個季度清理了逾10億美元的不良債務(wù),,其中大部分與寫字樓相關(guān)。
這家股票代碼為BXMT的不動產(chǎn)投資信托基金(REIT),,在其約170億美元的資產(chǎn)負債表中,,仍有超過10億美元的不良貸款。這提醒人們,,房地產(chǎn)市場的復(fù)蘇并不均衡,,且進展緩慢。
在黑石集團工作長達13年的黑石按揭貸款信托首席執(zhí)行官凱蒂·基南(Katie Keenan)上月對分析師表示:“隨著業(yè)務(wù)推進,,我們投資組合中寫字樓相關(guān)資產(chǎn)無疑會減少,。”該信托剛剛公布了自2012年被黑石集團接管以來的首次全年凈虧損,。大部分虧損源于黑石按揭貸款信托無法全額收回部分貸款,。
黑石按揭貸款信托的股價去年收盤時較疫情時期的峰值下跌了約50%,市值蒸發(fā)了約20億美元,,不過在2月有所反彈,。盡管它只是黑石集團1.1萬億美元資產(chǎn)管理規(guī)模中的一小部分,但該貸款機構(gòu)的健康狀況與黑石集團的部分業(yè)務(wù)緊密相連,。澳大利亞博彩公司皇冠度假集團(Crown Resorts)等少數(shù)借款人是由這家全球最大的商業(yè)地產(chǎn)所有者管理的,。
黑石集團強調(diào),寫字樓在美國房地產(chǎn)股權(quán)投資組合中占比不到2%,。另一方面,,在疫情初期,黑石按揭貸款信托的投資組合中寫字樓貸款占比超過50%,。通過沖銷,、償還貸款以及收回房屋所有權(quán),這一比例已降至約三分之一,。黑石按揭貸款信托持有的美國寫字樓貸款中,,超過一半被列入觀察名單或已減值。
房地產(chǎn)研究公司Green Street的高級分析師哈什·赫姆納尼(Harsh Hemnani)在談到黑石按揭貸款信托時表示:“在大約兩年的時間里,,寫字樓貸款敞口一直是其股票面臨的重大不利因素,。如今我們發(fā)現(xiàn)問題正在自行解決,但有些事情仍需時間才能完全解決,?!?/p>
像卡森·布洛克(Carson Block)這樣的做空者曾警告稱,這家不動產(chǎn)投資信托基金將在商業(yè)地產(chǎn)崩盤中遭受沖擊,。布洛克在2023年末披露了對黑石按揭貸款信托的做空操作,,不到一年后,該信托就削減了股息。布洛克沒有回應(yīng)關(guān)于其空頭頭寸現(xiàn)狀的置評請求,,不過本周他在接受彭博電視臺采訪時表示,,公司對其觀點得到印證感到“高興”。盡管如此,,布洛克表示,,鑒于利率的不確定性,他對未來商業(yè)地產(chǎn)的做空前景不太確定,。標(biāo)普全球(S&P Global)匯編的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,,過去一年左右,黑石按揭貸款信托的空頭頭寸已減半,,約占流通股的8.4%。
黑石按揭貸款信托表示,,隨著房地產(chǎn)市場復(fù)蘇勢頭增強,,其資產(chǎn)價值正在上升。
黑石按揭貸款信托在一份電子郵件聲明中表示:“一年前,,我們曾表示房地產(chǎn)價值正在觸底,,而實際情況正是如此?!甭暶鞣Q,,該信托正在積極行動,將接近創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄水平的流動資金用于發(fā)放新貸款,,且寫字樓貸款正在產(chǎn)生現(xiàn)金流,。過去大約一年中,超過一半的還款來自寫字樓貸款,。
盡管如此,,投資者對最優(yōu)質(zhì)寫字樓以外的物業(yè)幾乎沒有興趣。該信托正努力出售一項自2021年來首次推出的貸款抵押債券(本質(zhì)上是由其發(fā)放的貸款組成的債券),。這筆交易將主要由公寓樓,、酒店和工業(yè)地產(chǎn)作為支撐,與之前主要與寫字樓相關(guān)的貸款抵押債券有所不同,。
據(jù)知情人士透露,,十年前,黑石集團的房地產(chǎn)團隊看好主要大都市地區(qū)的寫字樓業(yè)主,。另一位知情人士稱,,首席執(zhí)行官蘇世民(Steve Schwarzman)告訴同事,即便這些寫字樓的入住率只有50%,,仍能實現(xiàn)盈利,。
然而,幾乎無人能預(yù)見疫情會帶來如此劇烈的動蕩。哥倫比亞大學(xué)商學(xué)院教授斯蒂恩·范·尼烏沃伯格(Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh)指出,,紐約大多數(shù)建筑的價值較峰值平均下跌了超過75%,。
黑石按揭貸款信托在全球?qū)懽謽菢I(yè)務(wù)上的風(fēng)險敞口遠超同行。疫情初期,,這家黑石旗下公司的投資組合中超過一半與寫字樓貸款相關(guān),,而阿波羅全球管理公司(Apollo Global Management Inc.)和KKR集團旗下類似業(yè)務(wù)部門的寫字樓貸款集中度則低于30%。
分析師們對該信托是否需要為潛在的信貸損失預(yù)留更多資金表示質(zhì)疑,。根據(jù)公司文件,,2024年底,黑石按揭貸款信托預(yù)留了約7.34億美元以應(yīng)對近期信貸損失,,這一數(shù)字高于2021年底的1.25億美元,。
Green Street分析師赫姆納尼表示,該信托的貸款損失準(zhǔn)備金仍然不足,。
“我們?nèi)匀徽J為,,其當(dāng)前預(yù)期信用損失(CECL)準(zhǔn)備金不足以完全覆蓋潛在損失?!彼f,,這里指的是短期貸款損失所采用的會計術(shù)語?!安贿^,,我們預(yù)期的損失與他們的準(zhǔn)備金之間的差距正在迅速縮小?!?/p>
該信托在一份聲明中表示,,其對準(zhǔn)備金采取了審慎的處理方式,“我們的債務(wù)清償情況總體好于損失準(zhǔn)備金所預(yù)示的情況,,這一事實即為明證,。”
該信托公司在2024年清償了16億美元減值貸款,,且清償金額高于賬面價值,。
皇后區(qū)倉庫
隨著寫字樓市場逐步回暖,黑石按揭貸款信托一直在努力清理不良交易,。例如在紐約,,據(jù)知情人士透露,黑石集團向Falchi Building追加了資金(該大樓有一筆2億美元的貸款由黑石按揭貸款信托提供,,到期未償還),。這座由倉庫改造而成的寫字樓位于皇后區(qū)的工業(yè)區(qū),附近有一家回收廠和建筑材料供應(yīng)商,,其將空間出租給優(yōu)步(Uber)以及紐約市出租車管理委員會,。
黑石按揭貸款信托還采取了一些金融手段來為借款人爭取時間,。在過去一年里,該信托允許部分借款人推遲現(xiàn)金支付,,條件是支付更高的利息及額外費用,。其中一些調(diào)整包括以物抵息,即延遲支付利息,,而將其計入到期本金,。對借款人而言,這種操作通常不是好兆頭,。不過該信托表示,,這些調(diào)整在其利息收入中所占比例很小,依據(jù)某項衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看,,僅占1%,。
該信托自身也獲得了更多財務(wù)靈活性。去年,,為避免違反借款的一項契約條款,,高管們說服銀行放寬了對其債務(wù)的限制。該公司稱,,這類協(xié)議在業(yè)界“頗為普遍”。
黑石集團規(guī)模更大的房地產(chǎn)貸款部門由在該公司工作了14年的資深人士蒂姆·約翰遜(Tim Johnson)掌舵,,該部門經(jīng)歷了一些人事變動,。邁克·納什(Mike Nash)是黑石按揭貸款信托房地產(chǎn)債務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人,以在復(fù)雜債務(wù)重組中保持冷靜著稱,。他于2021年調(diào)至該公司的對沖基金部門,,最近退休,但仍擔(dān)任黑石按揭貸款信托的董事會成員,。黑石集團前房地產(chǎn)信貸主管喬納森·波拉克(Jonathan Pollack)去年離職,,出任喜達屋資本集團(Starwood Capital Group)總裁。
在上個月與分析師的電話會議上,,黑石按揭貸款信托描繪了一幅公司正穩(wěn)步進入反彈軌道的圖景,。但在該部門能夠充分利用信貸市場其他領(lǐng)域更具吸引力的利率之前,還有很多工作要做,。仍有一些虧損交易出現(xiàn):高管們提及了一筆新的減值貸款,,即一筆未具名的英國寫字樓貸款。該信托表示,,該建筑在其投資組合中占比不到1%,,且位于“倫敦一個強勁的次級市場”。
投資者似乎頗為樂觀,。在最近一次發(fā)布財報后的數(shù)日內(nèi),,交易員將其股價推高了約5%,。今年以來,其股價已上漲17%,,表現(xiàn)優(yōu)于同行,。
黑石按揭貸款信托的高管們并未徹底放棄寫字樓業(yè)務(wù)。他們剛見證了一筆重大交易——2018年為曼哈頓摩天大樓“螺旋大廈”(The Spiral)提供的18億美元貸款——得到全額清償,。
首席執(zhí)行官基南在財報電話會議上表示:“如果我們能達成更多像螺旋大廈這樣的交易,,我們定會積極把握?!钡诤谑唇屹J款信托投資并承諾發(fā)放超過20億美元貸款的這個季度,,她警告稱公司將謹(jǐn)慎行事?!皩懽謽菢I(yè)務(wù)機會的范圍,,以及我們認為能取得優(yōu)異表現(xiàn)的領(lǐng)域相當(dāng)狹窄,我們會極其謹(jǐn)慎地進行挑選,?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
歷經(jīng)數(shù)年低迷導(dǎo)致美國寫字樓空置后,黑石集團(Blackstone Inc.)總裁喬恩·格雷(Jon Gray)認為寫字樓領(lǐng)域已迎來重新布局的契機,。其房地產(chǎn)交易團隊正準(zhǔn)備收購曼哈頓中城一棟50層建筑的股份,,這是迄今為止最鮮明的信號,表明該集團認為市場已為反彈做好準(zhǔn)備,。
與此同時,,負責(zé)管理該公司商業(yè)按揭貸款信托的高管們,仍在清理已變成壞賬的舊寫字樓貸款,。黑石按揭貸款信托(Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc.)在去年最后一個季度清理了逾10億美元的不良債務(wù),,其中大部分與寫字樓相關(guān)。
這家股票代碼為BXMT的不動產(chǎn)投資信托基金(REIT),,在其約170億美元的資產(chǎn)負債表中,,仍有超過10億美元的不良貸款。這提醒人們,,房地產(chǎn)市場的復(fù)蘇并不均衡,,且進展緩慢。
在黑石集團工作長達13年的黑石按揭貸款信托首席執(zhí)行官凱蒂·基南(Katie Keenan)上月對分析師表示:“隨著業(yè)務(wù)推進,,我們投資組合中寫字樓相關(guān)資產(chǎn)無疑會減少,。”該信托剛剛公布了自2012年被黑石集團接管以來的首次全年凈虧損,。大部分虧損源于黑石按揭貸款信托無法全額收回部分貸款,。
黑石按揭貸款信托的股價去年收盤時較疫情時期的峰值下跌了約50%,市值蒸發(fā)了約20億美元,,不過在2月有所反彈,。盡管它只是黑石集團1.1萬億美元資產(chǎn)管理規(guī)模中的一小部分,,但該貸款機構(gòu)的健康狀況與黑石集團的部分業(yè)務(wù)緊密相連。澳大利亞博彩公司皇冠度假集團(Crown Resorts)等少數(shù)借款人是由這家全球最大的商業(yè)地產(chǎn)所有者管理的,。
黑石集團強調(diào),,寫字樓在美國房地產(chǎn)股權(quán)投資組合中占比不到2%。另一方面,,在疫情初期,,黑石按揭貸款信托的投資組合中寫字樓貸款占比超過50%。通過沖銷,、償還貸款以及收回房屋所有權(quán),,這一比例已降至約三分之一。黑石按揭貸款信托持有的美國寫字樓貸款中,,超過一半被列入觀察名單或已減值,。
房地產(chǎn)研究公司Green Street的高級分析師哈什·赫姆納尼(Harsh Hemnani)在談到黑石按揭貸款信托時表示:“在大約兩年的時間里,寫字樓貸款敞口一直是其股票面臨的重大不利因素,。如今我們發(fā)現(xiàn)問題正在自行解決,,但有些事情仍需時間才能完全解決?!?/p>
像卡森·布洛克(Carson Block)這樣的做空者曾警告稱,,這家不動產(chǎn)投資信托基金將在商業(yè)地產(chǎn)崩盤中遭受沖擊。布洛克在2023年末披露了對黑石按揭貸款信托的做空操作,,不到一年后,,該信托就削減了股息。布洛克沒有回應(yīng)關(guān)于其空頭頭寸現(xiàn)狀的置評請求,,不過本周他在接受彭博電視臺采訪時表示,公司對其觀點得到印證感到“高興”,。盡管如此,,布洛克表示,鑒于利率的不確定性,,他對未來商業(yè)地產(chǎn)的做空前景不太確定,。標(biāo)普全球(S&P Global)匯編的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,過去一年左右,,黑石按揭貸款信托的空頭頭寸已減半,,約占流通股的8.4%。
黑石按揭貸款信托表示,,隨著房地產(chǎn)市場復(fù)蘇勢頭增強,,其資產(chǎn)價值正在上升。
黑石按揭貸款信托在一份電子郵件聲明中表示:“一年前,,我們曾表示房地產(chǎn)價值正在觸底,,而實際情況正是如此,。”聲明稱,,該信托正在積極行動,,將接近創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄水平的流動資金用于發(fā)放新貸款,且寫字樓貸款正在產(chǎn)生現(xiàn)金流,。過去大約一年中,,超過一半的還款來自寫字樓貸款。
盡管如此,,投資者對最優(yōu)質(zhì)寫字樓以外的物業(yè)幾乎沒有興趣,。該信托正努力出售一項自2021年來首次推出的貸款抵押債券(本質(zhì)上是由其發(fā)放的貸款組成的債券)。這筆交易將主要由公寓樓,、酒店和工業(yè)地產(chǎn)作為支撐,,與之前主要與寫字樓相關(guān)的貸款抵押債券有所不同。
據(jù)知情人士透露,,十年前,,黑石集團的房地產(chǎn)團隊看好主要大都市地區(qū)的寫字樓業(yè)主。另一位知情人士稱,,首席執(zhí)行官蘇世民(Steve Schwarzman)告訴同事,,即便這些寫字樓的入住率只有50%,仍能實現(xiàn)盈利,。
然而,,幾乎無人能預(yù)見疫情會帶來如此劇烈的動蕩。哥倫比亞大學(xué)商學(xué)院教授斯蒂恩·范·尼烏沃伯格(Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh)指出,,紐約大多數(shù)建筑的價值較峰值平均下跌了超過75%,。
黑石按揭貸款信托在全球?qū)懽謽菢I(yè)務(wù)上的風(fēng)險敞口遠超同行。疫情初期,,這家黑石旗下公司的投資組合中超過一半與寫字樓貸款相關(guān),,而阿波羅全球管理公司(Apollo Global Management Inc.)和KKR集團旗下類似業(yè)務(wù)部門的寫字樓貸款集中度則低于30%。
分析師們對該信托是否需要為潛在的信貸損失預(yù)留更多資金表示質(zhì)疑,。根據(jù)公司文件,,2024年底,黑石按揭貸款信托預(yù)留了約7.34億美元以應(yīng)對近期信貸損失,,這一數(shù)字高于2021年底的1.25億美元,。
Green Street分析師赫姆納尼表示,該信托的貸款損失準(zhǔn)備金仍然不足,。
“我們?nèi)匀徽J為,,其當(dāng)前預(yù)期信用損失(CECL)準(zhǔn)備金不足以完全覆蓋潛在損失?!彼f,,這里指的是短期貸款損失所采用的會計術(shù)語,。“不過,,我們預(yù)期的損失與他們的準(zhǔn)備金之間的差距正在迅速縮小,。”
該信托在一份聲明中表示,,其對準(zhǔn)備金采取了審慎的處理方式,,“我們的債務(wù)清償情況總體好于損失準(zhǔn)備金所預(yù)示的情況,這一事實即為明證,?!?/p>
該信托公司在2024年清償了16億美元減值貸款,且清償金額高于賬面價值,。
皇后區(qū)倉庫
隨著寫字樓市場逐步回暖,,黑石按揭貸款信托一直在努力清理不良交易。例如在紐約,,據(jù)知情人士透露,,黑石集團向Falchi Building追加了資金(該大樓有一筆2億美元的貸款由黑石按揭貸款信托提供,到期未償還),。這座由倉庫改造而成的寫字樓位于皇后區(qū)的工業(yè)區(qū),,附近有一家回收廠和建筑材料供應(yīng)商,其將空間出租給優(yōu)步(Uber)以及紐約市出租車管理委員會,。
黑石按揭貸款信托還采取了一些金融手段來為借款人爭取時間,。在過去一年里,該信托允許部分借款人推遲現(xiàn)金支付,,條件是支付更高的利息及額外費用,。其中一些調(diào)整包括以物抵息,即延遲支付利息,,而將其計入到期本金,。對借款人而言,這種操作通常不是好兆頭,。不過該信托表示,,這些調(diào)整在其利息收入中所占比例很小,,依據(jù)某項衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看,,僅占1%。
該信托自身也獲得了更多財務(wù)靈活性,。去年,,為避免違反借款的一項契約條款,高管們說服銀行放寬了對其債務(wù)的限制,。該公司稱,,這類協(xié)議在業(yè)界“頗為普遍”,。
黑石集團規(guī)模更大的房地產(chǎn)貸款部門由在該公司工作了14年的資深人士蒂姆·約翰遜(Tim Johnson)掌舵,該部門經(jīng)歷了一些人事變動,。邁克·納什(Mike Nash)是黑石按揭貸款信托房地產(chǎn)債務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人,,以在復(fù)雜債務(wù)重組中保持冷靜著稱。他于2021年調(diào)至該公司的對沖基金部門,,最近退休,,但仍擔(dān)任黑石按揭貸款信托的董事會成員。黑石集團前房地產(chǎn)信貸主管喬納森·波拉克(Jonathan Pollack)去年離職,,出任喜達屋資本集團(Starwood Capital Group)總裁,。
在上個月與分析師的電話會議上,黑石按揭貸款信托描繪了一幅公司正穩(wěn)步進入反彈軌道的圖景,。但在該部門能夠充分利用信貸市場其他領(lǐng)域更具吸引力的利率之前,,還有很多工作要做。仍有一些虧損交易出現(xiàn):高管們提及了一筆新的減值貸款,,即一筆未具名的英國寫字樓貸款,。該信托表示,該建筑在其投資組合中占比不到1%,,且位于“倫敦一個強勁的次級市場”,。
投資者似乎頗為樂觀。在最近一次發(fā)布財報后的數(shù)日內(nèi),,交易員將其股價推高了約5%,。今年以來,其股價已上漲17%,,表現(xiàn)優(yōu)于同行,。
黑石按揭貸款信托的高管們并未徹底放棄寫字樓業(yè)務(wù)。他們剛見證了一筆重大交易——2018年為曼哈頓摩天大樓“螺旋大廈”(The Spiral)提供的18億美元貸款——得到全額清償,。
首席執(zhí)行官基南在財報電話會議上表示:“如果我們能達成更多像螺旋大廈這樣的交易,,我們定會積極把握?!钡诤谑唇屹J款信托投資并承諾發(fā)放超過20億美元貸款的這個季度,,她警告稱公司將謹(jǐn)慎行事?!皩懽謽菢I(yè)務(wù)機會的范圍,,以及我們認為能取得優(yōu)異表現(xiàn)的領(lǐng)域相當(dāng)狹窄,我們會極其謹(jǐn)慎地進行挑選,?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
After a yearslong downturn that left U.S. offices empty, Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray sees the sector as ripe for new bets. His real estate dealmakers are preparing to scoop up a stake in a 50-story building in Midtown Manhattan, the strongest signal yet that it sees the market primed for a rebound.
Executives running the firm’s commercial mortgage trust, meanwhile, are still sorting through old office loans gone bad. Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. untangled more than $1 billion of soured debt, mostly tied to offices, in the final quarter of last year.
And the REIT — known by its ticker, BXMT — still has more than $1 billion of troubled loans in its roughly $17 billion book. It’s a reminder that the real estate recovery is uneven and halting.
“We’ll certainly see less office in the portfolio as we move forward here,” BXMT Chief Executive Officer Katie Keenan, a 13-year Blackstone veteran, told analysts last month. The trust had just posted its first full-year net loss since Blackstone took it over in 2012. Much of the loss came from recognizing that BXMT couldn’t collect some loans in full.
BXMT shares finished last year down some 50% from their pandemic peak, lopping off about $2 billion in market value before rebounding in February. It’s just a small part of the wider firm that manages $1.1 trillion, but the lender’s health is intertwined with parts of Blackstone. A handful of borrowers — such as Australian gaming company Crown Resorts — are managed by the world’s largest commercial real estate owner.
Blackstone has emphasized that offices are less than 2% of its US real estate equity portfolio. BXMT, on the other hand, was filled with office loans — more than 50% of its portfolio — at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through write-offs, repayments and taking the keys to buildings, it has shrunk that share to about a third. More than half of BXMT’s US office loans are watchlisted or impaired.
“The office loan exposure was the big overhang on their stock for about two years,” Harsh Hemnani, a senior analyst at real estate research firm Green Street, said of BXMT. “Now we’re seeing that resolving itself, but also certain things will take time to play out.”
Short sellers such as Carson Block warned the REIT would get swept up in the commercial property meltdown. Block disclosed a bet against BXMT in late 2023, and the trust slashed its dividend less than a year later. Block didn’t respond to a request for comment on the status of his short position, though he told Bloomberg Television this week his firm is “happy” its thesis played out. Still, Block said he’s less sure about the short case for commercial real estate going forward given uncertainty around rates. Short positions in BXMT have halved to about 8.4% of outstanding shares over the past year or so, according to data compiled by S&P Global.
BXMT says its fortunes are lifting as a real estate recovery gathers momentum.
“One year ago, we said that real estate values were bottoming and that’s exactly what has happened,” BXMT said in an emailed statement. The trust is moving aggressively to deploy near-record liquidity into new loans, and office loans are throwing off cash, according to the statement. More than half of repayments in roughly the past year have come from office loans.
Still, investors have little appetite for all but the best offices. The trust is working to sell a collateralized loan obligation — essentially a bond made up of loans it has originated — for the first time since 2021. The deal will be backed mostly by apartment complexes, hospitality and industrial properties, a shift from prior CLOs linked mostly to office buildings.
Blackstone’s real estate team was bullish on office landlords in major metropolitan areas a decade ago, according to people familiar with the matter. CEO Steve Schwarzman told associates the buildings could still be profitable even if they were only half occupied, another person said.
But few predicted the upheaval that the Covid-19 pandemic would bring. Values have fallen by more than 75% on average from the peak for most buildings in New York, according to Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
And BXMT carried much greater global office exposure than peers. While the Blackstone unit had more than half its portfolio tied to office loans at the start of the pandemic, similar arms at Apollo Global Management Inc. and KKR & Co. reported concentrations below 30%.
Analysts have questioned whether the trust needs to reserve more for potential credit losses. BXMT set aside about $734 million to account for near-term credit losses at the end of 2024, according to company filings. That’s up from $125 million at the end of 2021.
Hemnani, the Green Street analyst, said the trust’s loan loss reserves still aren’t big enough.
“We still think their CECL reserves are not fully accounting for the losses that they might experience,” he said, referring to the accounting term for near-term loan losses. “But the gap between the losses we’re expecting and their reserves is narrowing very quickly.”
In a statement, the trust said it has taken a prudent approach to its reserves that has been “validated by the fact that our resolutions have overall been more favorable than implied by our loss reserves.”
It resolved $1.6 billion of impaired loans in 2024 above carrying values.
Queens Warehouse
BXMT has been working to clean up less-than-pristine deals as the office market slowly recovers. In New York, for example, Blackstone put additional capital into the Falchi Building, which has a $200 million loan with BXMT that wasn’t repaid upon maturity, according to people familiar with the matter. Located in an industrial part of Queens near a recycling plant and construction suppliers, the warehouse-turned-office leases space to Uber and New York City’s taxi commission.
BXMT also resorted to some financial engineering to buy borrowers time. In the past year, the trust has agreed to let certain borrowers delay cash payments in exchange for higher interest and more fees. Some of the modifications include payment in kind, which means interest payments are delayed and instead added on to the principal due. Such maneuvers are rarely a good sign for a borrower. Still, these represented a small fraction of BXMT’s interest income — only 1% by one measure — last year, the trust said.
The trust has received more financial wiggle room itself. Last year, to avoid violating a covenant on BXMT’s own borrowings, executives persuaded banks to loosen restrictions on the debt. It said the agreement is “generally standard” among its peers.
Blackstone’s broader real estate lending unit, helmed by 14-year firm veteran Tim Johnson, has been through some personnel changes. Mike Nash — who co-founded the real estate debt business and was known for composure during complex workouts — moved to the firm’s hedge fund arm in 2021 and recently retired, though he remains on BXMT’s board. Jonathan Pollack, Blackstone’s former head of real estate credit, left last year to become Starwood Capital Group’s president.
In a call with analysts last month, BXMT painted a picture of an enterprise firmly in rebound mode. But there’s more to do before the unit can fully take advantage of the more attractive rates boosting other corners of the credit market. It’s still seeing some losers trickle in: executives referenced one new impairment, an unnamed UK office loan. The building represents less than 1% of its portfolio and sits in a “strong submarket of London,” the trust said.
Investors appear sanguine. In the days after its most recent earnings release, traders bid up the stock some 5%. It’s up 17% year-to-date, outperforming peers.
And BXMT executives aren’t swearing off offices for good. They just saw their marquee deal — a 2018-era, $1.8 billion loan for a Manhattan skyscraper called The Spiral — repaid in full.
“If we could do more deals like The Spiral, we absolutely would,” Keenan, the CEO, said during the earnings call. But in a quarter in which BXMT invested and pledged more than $2 billion in originations, she warned the firm will tread carefully. “The aperture of the type of office opportunities and where we see outperformance is quite narrow, and we’re going to be extremely selective.”