U.S. Bankruptcy Tracker: Brazos Bust Spotlights Texas Menace

March 02, 2021

Last week saw more real estate and hospitality firms seek court protection from creditors. The Williamsburg Hotel, which offers views of Manhattan from the hip Brooklyn neighborhood, listed liabilities of as much as $100 million in its bankruptcy petition.

The Covid-19 pandemic helped push about $146 billion of commercial real estate into distress, serious risk of bankruptcy or default at the end of last year, according to data compiled by Real Capital Analytics, a commercial real estate data firm. That stands in contrast to the ever-dwindling pile of distressed corporate bonds, which stands at about $82 billion, just a fraction of its 2020 peak.

Corporate bankruptcy activity is likely to remain muted compared with the five-per-week pace seen last year as firms try get through the economic uncertainty of the pandemic, said Patrick Collins, partner at law firm Farrell Fritz. Lenders worried about the value of collateral are willing to wait for improvement, he said.

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