NEW YORK CITY-The commercial real estate industry is still on-the-fence about whether the downgrade of Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup by Moody’s Investors Service will immediately affect deal-making and property pricing. But sources tell GlobeSt.com that lending for new construction and development could take a hit in an already stagnant market.

"The ratings downgrades were mainly related to the impact of Dodd-Frank and the notion that banks are not 'too big to fail,'" says Matthew Anderson, managing director of Trepp, LLC, in an e-mail. "The larger issues are banks' appetite for CRE lending and demand from borrowers. Both are weak. Among the big banks, Wells Fargo stands out as having grown its commercial mortgage book. All have seen their construction & land development books continue to shrink because of charge-offs and the lack of new construction activity."

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On Wednesday, Moody’s pared Wells Fargo’s senior debt to A2 from A1, and downgraded its major subsidiaries, including Wells Fargo NA, to Aa3 from Aa2. Citigroup’s short-term rating was cut to Prime-2 from Prime-1. The long-term deposit ratings of Bank of America NA were downgraded to A2 from Aa3, while Bank of America Corporation’s (BAC) holding company went from A2 and Baa1 for long-term senior debt and to Prime-2 from Prime-1 for short-term debt. All have been assigned a negative outlook.