Dwindling Bank Occupancy Challenges Lending, Blackstone Not Immune to Soft Manhattan Office Market, Starwood’s Former Malls Still Struggle

Dwindling Bank Occupancy Challenges Lending: The long-running consolidation in bank branches has moved into a new phase since the outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago. Bank holding companies are now reducing major regional office hubs. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the country's largest bank holding company, drew attention to the trend in his annual shareholders letter. “Remote work will change how we manage our real estate. We will quickly move to a more ‘open seating’ arrangement in which digital tools will help manage seating arrangements,” he wrote. “As a result, for every 100 employees, we may need seats for approximately 60 to 75 on average.”