Summary

Today, the risk of terrorism remains as strong as ever. According to the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), “A diverse set of foreign actors are targeting U.S. health and safety, critical infrastructure, industries, wealth, and government. State adversaries and their proxies are also trying to weaken and displace U.S. economic and military power in their regions and across the globe.”

For more than two decades, at almost no cost to the taxpayer, the national terrorism insurance program established by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in 2002 has made it possible for businesses to purchase the terrorism risk coverage they need. Threatened with acts of terrorism, and in the absence of a viable private market, business insurance consumers would be unable to secure adequate coverage without such a program. The Real Estate Roundtable supports a long-term reauthorization of TRIA and urges prompt congressional action to renew this critical program in advance of its expiration on Dec. 31, 2027.

Key Takeaways

Terrorism risk is a national security challenge that requires a federal solution.

TRIA has successfully maintained market stability for over 20 years at minimal taxpayer cost.

Without TRIA, terrorism risk coverage would become scarce or unaffordable, threatening economic
resilience and recovery.

Should a terrorist attack occur without adequate coverage in place, underinsured businesses will face the risk of ruin, with potentially catastrophic local economic effects, and the federal government will face significant pressure to hastily assemble financial assistance to underinsured victims.

Early reauthorization will ensure continued business confidence and prevent market disruption as the
program approaches its 2027 expiration.

It is important to enact a long-term reauthorization of TRIA well in advance of its termination date of
December 31, 2027.

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Summary

Nearly $936 billion of U.S. commercial real estate mortgages are estimated to mature in 2026. To help rebalance the wave of maturing loans, it is important to advance measures that will encourage additional capital formation and loan restructuring.

• As urged by RER, a policy statement—Policy Statement on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Accommodations and Workouts—issued by regulatory agencies encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with creditworthy borrowers on CRE loan workouts is helping to see loans through the current environment.
• Many of these loans require additional equity, and borrowers still need time to restructure this debt. 
• Capital formation is vital to help restructure maturing debt and fill the equity gap.

It is also important to avoid pro-cyclical regulatory actions such as the Basel III Endgame.

A revised Basel III Endgame proposal announced in September 2024 would have increased Tier 1 capital requirements for global systemically important banks by roughly 9 percent. Concerns remain that any increase in capital requirements will have a pro-cyclical impact on credit capacity and carry a cost to commercial real estate and the overall economy, increasing the cost of credit and constraining capacity. Implementation remains uncertain.

In a January 2024 letter, RER raised industry concerns about the negative impact of the Basel III Endgame proposal, including the higher cost of credit and diminished lending capacity, and requested that the proposal be withdrawn.

Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said that the central bank is working with the FDIC and the OCC on reproposal of the rule. A more industry-friendly version of contentious capital rules is expected in early 2026.

In a Dec. 19, 2025 letter to Vice Chair Bowman and other bank regulatory agencies, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) urged regulators to design the Basel III Endgame capital rules in a way that protects bank safety without unnecessarily restricting credit or harming economic growth, while supporting households, businesses, and markets.

Key Takeaways

Providing banks with the flexibility to work constructively with their borrowers during times of economic stress has led to billions of dollars of loan restructurings and reduced undue stress in bank loan portfolios.

The original Basel III Endgame proposalwould have had a significant economic cost without clear benefits to the economy.

The largest U.S. banks’ capital and liquidity levels have grown dramatically since the original Basel III standards were implemented in 2013 in response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Since 2009, Tier 1 capital has increased by 56 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 capital has tripled. Today, as the Federal Reserve recently observed, the U.S. “banking system is sound and resilient, with strong capital and liquidity.”

Further, it is important to bring more foreign capital into U.S. real estate by lifting legal barriers to investment, as well as repealing or reforming the archaic Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA).

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Summary

The proliferation of natural catastrophe threats has raised concerns about commercial insurance coverage for real estate. These concerns have highlighted the lack of—and need for—insurance capacity and various lines of commercial insurance. Risks from natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, wildfires, hail, tornadoes, and drought cost the U.S. billions of dollars each year. Even if policyholders are able to find coverage for these various lines, prices are increasing dramatically. A lack of adequate coverage will lead to economic uncertainty, harm stakeholders, and undermine the growth of communities.     

The budget debate in Congress has called into question the future of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is subject to temporary funding extensions. Congress must now reauthorize the NFIP by no later than Jan. 30, 2026.

RER, along with its industry partners, continues to work constructively with policymakers and stakeholders to address market failure and enact a long-term reauthorization of an improved NFIP.

Key Takeaways

The increased frequency and severity of natural disasters is leading to increased premiums for commercial properties.

As economic losses caused by disasters increase, it is important to find new strategies in order to effectively manage natural catastrophe risk. 

Expanding coverage gaps and increased costs present challenges for businesses across many industries, including real estate.

Without adequate coverage, the vast majority of natural catastrophe losses are likely to be absorbed by policyholders. These widening coverage gaps and price hikes bring about serious economic concerns about protection gaps, coverage capacity, and increased costs from natural catastrophes and business interruption losses.

Commercial property owners can take steps to mitigate the risk of natural disasters and potentially lower their insurance costs.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires certain companies to disclose information about their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The goal was to create a national directory of beneficial owners to curb illicit finance, drug cartels, terrorist groups, and other harmful activities.

As of March 2025, the Treasury Department announced it will suspend enforcement of the CTA against U.S. domestic reporting companies and their beneficial owners, focusing solely on foreign entities. This means U.S. commercial real estate entities are now exempt from providing beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.

FinCEN intends to issue new rules to narrow the scope of the CTA’s reporting requirements to only apply to foreign-formed companies that have registered to do business in the U.S.

The Real Estate Roundtable continues to work with policymakers in support of a balanced approach that would inhibit illicit money laundering activity without the imposition of costly reporting requirements for real estate investors. 

Key Takeaways

Thanks to the Treasury’s action to suspend CTA enforcement for domestic reporting companies, much of the concern about the CTA’s far-reaching scope and its impact on many commercial and residential real estate businesses that use the LLC structure for conducting business is allayed.

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Summary

In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed changes to require SEC-registered investment advisers to put all their clients’ assets, including all digital assets like Bitcoin and certain physical assets like real estate, with “qualified custodians.” The proposal would also require a written agreement between custodians and advisers, expand the “surprise examination” requirements, and enhance recordkeeping rules. These rules were originally designed for digital assets. “Reasonable” safeguarding requirements is ambiguous as applied to real estate. Furthermore, the SEC’s release contains an inaccuracy regarding the way deeds evidencing ownership of real estate are recorded.

RER sees no policy reason to impose the proposed rule on real estate and has advocated for an exception for real estate.

Key Takeaways

Due to a variety of factors, real estate cannot readily be stolen, making the rule seem irrelevant to this asset class. 

In addition to the proposed Custody Rule, the SEC has a number of proposed rulemaking measures that could have a chilling effect on real estate capital markets, further impair liquidity, and be a “death by a thousand cuts” for commercial real estate. 

Capital formation is vital when credit markets tighten to restructure maturing debt.  

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

On Sept. 19, 2025, the White House released an Executive Order, fact sheet, and website announcing Gold and Platinum “Trump Cards.” The program is intended to grant permanent residency in the U.S. for immigrants with high net worth. The administration’s announcement directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to coordinate and establish a program that expedites “green cards” issued under the EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories for foreign nationals who make a “significant financial gift to the Nation.”

It will take some time to see how Trump Cards resonate in foreign capital markets, and what further program guidelines entail, before these and similar questions are fully sorted out.

Key Takeaways

The new Trump Cards and the EB-5 visa program provide separate visa pathways to attract global capital and top-tier talent.

Trump Cards do not and legally cannot replace EB-5 visas.

The EB-5 program is the established, statutorily authorized pathway to attract foreign investors to the U.S. It has delivered $350 billion in economic impact and created over 1.5 million American jobs—at no cost to taxpayers—and should continue to be fully supported by Congress and the administration.

Congress should permanently authorize the EB-5 program. It should give the foreign investment market stability by authorizing regional centers in 2026, ahead of their scheduled expiration in 2027.

See the full fact sheet.

Summary

On Aug. 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled, “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors,” signaling a fundamental shift in federal policy regarding access to asset classes previously reserved for institutional investors.

The Executive Order aims to allow ordinary workers to invest in alternative assets such as private equity and real estate through their 401(k) plans. The initiative seeks to reduce regulatory obstacles for plan fiduciaries and clarify their duties through ongoing work by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

The DOL is nearing the release of a proposed rule on advisors’ duties when recommending alternative investments for defined contribution plans. According to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the DOL submitted its proposed rule entitled, “Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives” on Jan. 13, 2026.

Key Takeaways

In the August order, Trump directed the DOL to propose new regulations on alts in retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) within six months. It also directed the DOL to work with other regulators to determine necessary rule changes to ease alternative investment access in 401(k)s, and for the SEC to help with that effort in participant-directed retirement plans.

While such alternative investments have long been part of defined-benefit plan portfolios, such as pensions, they are not expressly barred from defined contribution plans. Nonetheless, fiduciary rules make it challenging to include them in 401(k)s.

See the full fact sheet.