ANHD Statement on the Sale of Signature’s Loans

Last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the winning bidders for portions of the failed Signature Bank’s commercial and multifamily portfolio. The Community Preservation Corporation, with Neighborhood Restore HDFC and Related Fund Management, secured a 5 percent equity interest in the sale of rent-stabilized/rent-controlled loans. In another move, the FDIC announced Hancock JV Bidco L.L.C., indirectly controlled by Blackstone, Inc., and other investors were awarded a 20 percent equity interest in Signature’s commercial real estate portfolio.

ANHD and our Equitable Reinvestment Committee applaud the FDIC for their selection of the Community Preservation Corporation, a nonprofit housing finance company with a long history of working with rent-stabilized and rent-controlled buildings in New York City. The Community Preservation Corporation has a track record of investing in the long-term affordability, the physical building conditions, and the financial stability of New York housing stock.

In addition, we applaud the FDIC for their commitment to ensuring both the financial stability and protecting the affordability of residential housing for low- and moderate-income residents. The FDIC should be commended for its direct outreach and engagement with tenants prior to the bid opening, in order to understand and assess the on-the-ground reality of the portfolio’s conditions. 

Following Signature’s collapse, ANHD’s Equitable Reinvestment Committee supported local tenant organizations to uplift their voices and building conditions to the FDIC and have long voiced concerns about Signature’s lending practices before that. We have been reaching out to tenants in Signature-financed buildings to understand the situation and stress the importance of conveying their building and unit concerns at this time.

As we face a housing and homelessness crisis in New York City, we must ensure tenants in Signature-financed buildings can stay in their homes and experience improved conditions. We have a moment to shift the city’s housing narrative from profit-driven to recognizing housing as a human right. We look forward to engaging with the Community Preservation Corporation, the FDIC, and our Equitable Reinvestment Committee’s Signature subcommittee members to ensure tenants live in the safe, healthy, and up-to-date conditions they deserve.