For most people the covid-19 pandemic ended years ago. But not for commercial-property investors and their lenders. Working from home prompted an office slump that lasted far longer than mask mandates and lockdowns. Starting in 2022 aggressive interest-rate rises hurt the sector even more, by making mortgage loans far more expensive to roll over. The banks that financed it, especially the smaller ones, have been brutally squeezed as credit quality has deteriorated.