Coronavirus - How Will It Impact Commercial Lending?

The Coronavirus is probably the most important topic at this moment and may be the most important topic in all of 2020 (outside of the Presidential election), and it is causing a lot of confusion, anxiousness, market stress, political turmoil, and even some panic.  I have spent a significant amount of time over the past two weeks researching what is known about the Coronavirus, and at this point I have to say if anything my goal is reduce the panic level because based on what I have found, I do not think the health risk is as severe as the media is playing it out to be.  However, there is real impact to the economy, interest rates, lending, and the general market, not to mention health risks, that need to be discussed.  This is going to be a longer blog than our typical blog because we want to dispel some of the myths about the Coronavirus itself while also covering what we think the long-term negatives and even some positives are to this epidemic.    

The Coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 for short, is a virus that can cause a respiratory disease in humans.  The virus actually started in animals and it is believed it was spread from animals to humans via a fresh fish and meat market in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China.  It has been confirmed that the virus is now spreading from human to human, much like the common cold.  As of March 1st, 2020 there were a total of 88,339 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide of which 42,728 have made a full recovery, 42,610 were still confirmed to have active cases, and 3,001 deaths have occurred.  Of the active cases 35,003 or 82% are considered mild while 7,607 or 18% are considered serious.  China continues to see the largest number of total cases at 79,828 or roughly 90.4% of total cases, and China has also seen the most deaths at 2,870 or 3.6% of the reported cases in China. 

Although the numbers are startling and make many people nervous, there are still many things to consider.  I have personally spoken with several health professionals and a microbiologist who has experience with communicable diseases.  I have also done some extensive research on the Coronavirus, China’s healthcare system, and on how similar viruses and flu’s spread, and there are some important things to keep in mind related to Coronavirus that I do not feel is getting fully communicated through the media, including the following:

March 2020 Programs to Highlight

No Tax Return Owner-Occupied Commercial Property Financing  

No Historical Income Verification Investment Property Loan

30-Year Fixed Rate & No Tax Return / Single-Family & Multi-Family Investment Property Program

Asset Based Working Capital

SBA 7A Business Debt Consolidation & Refinance