Happy Friday, friends! If you’ve talked with me lately I’ve probably mentioned the difficult teething stage Maverick is going through right now; and it honestly seems like it has been happening for half his life. As much as Scott and I do to console him, nothing turns his giant frown upside down like this sister trying to brighten his spirits. She’s so effective at distracting him with a song that she made up or a silly face that I’ve found myself requesting her services when everything I’ve tried has failed. I have absolutely no shame in asking our two-year-old for help with the baby, because it works!
Nearly every day, Compass’s Leonard Steinberg puts together a handful of real estate news bits that are always so interesting I have to share some of my favorites of the week. To receive these every day from Leonard, please click [_here](mailto:ls@compass.com “”) and include your full name and email address to get on his mailing list.
* As if staring at our phones wasn’t bad enough and anti-social, now the tech world wants to wrap our eyes with headsets so we can NEVER turn our eyes away from our tech…… as if our reality was not virtual and augmented enough already…… Will those who found wearing a mask abhorrent (I didn’t enjoy masks!) embrace headsets?
* To anyone concerned about other banks in the face of the SVB Bank mess, know that First Republic Bank has a deposit base that is strong and well diversified with no industry sector representing more than 9% of total deposits, and diversified real estate as the largest segment. Technology represents only 4% of deposits, vastly different from some competitors. FRB also do not engage in banking or custody services to digital asset exchanges or service providers. Their liquidity and capital remain strong with over $60 billion of borrowing capacity, and their capitalization is significantly higher than well-capitalized institutions by regulatory standards. Last month FRB raised close to $400 million of capital to fund growth and further strengthen their position. Their diversified balance sheet has a securities portfolio less than 15% of total Bank assets, vastly different from some competitors and they have no direct Bank investments in digital assets. Don’t buy into the sensationalist media headlines and profiteers out there……we know them all too well at COMPASS!
* Was SVB’s demise a product of interest rates rising too, far too fast, or staying too low, too long? Something tells me this could trigger a pause in rate hikes…… the Fed’s slowness to respond to clear data on rising inflation in 2021 is being mirrored by their slowness in seeing the data on how their massive, speedy rate hikes are impacting the economy in 2023. Employment is just one datapoint. While regulations enacted after the 2008/9 Great Recession have strengthened the US banking system, a law passed in 2018 – S.2155 – freed regional banks with assets lower than $250 billion from required “stress testing” from the Federal Reserve and removed rules requiring banks to keep a certain amount of cash on hand to avert crises in the event of financial shocks……
* COMPASS Boca Raton FL’s The Koolik Group has been helping people “find their place in the world,” and has been helping a Ukraine family displaced by the horrific war keep theirs. With a fundraising goal of $50,000 to cover a year’s rent, utilities, and other extraneous expenses, they have already hit 20% in just 10 days! Should you be interested in donating, know that any amount helps. Here is the link.