The number of U.S. banks and thrifts considered concentrated in commercial real estate lending fell in the third quarter from the year-ago quarter by 11.0% to 405 and from the second-quarter level of 412.

Total CRE loans continued to grow in the third quarter, rising 1.6% quarter over quarter and 5.7% year over year to $1.904 trillion. Delinquent CRE loans remained unchanged quarter over quarter at 0.51% as of Sept. 30, but that was a 3-basis-point decrease from the year-ago quarter.

Since 2006, U.S. banking regulators have advised banks that CRE loan concentrations above a certain threshold could lead to increased regulatory scrutiny. In 2015, the guidance was reissued in light of substantial CRE loan growth.

The guidance states that banks may be considered "concentrated" in CRE loans if one of two thresholds is met: first, if CRE loans are greater than 300% of risk-based capital and CRE loans have grown by more than 50% over the last three years; or second, if construction and land development loans are more than 100% of risk-based capital.

The regulatory definition of CRE lending includes four categories: construction and land development loans; multifamily loans; loans secured by nonowner-occupied commercial properties; and loans used to finance CRE or construction and development activities not secured by real estate.

Note: Data reported in this article may not match data reported in prior articles due to company restatements.

Click here to access an Excel spreadsheet that lists companies concentrated in CRE as of Sept. 30, 2019.