WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - Big U.S. banks' commercial real estate portfolios put in a surprisingly good performance during the Federal Reserve's annual health checks, with losses declining slightly on last year, the central bank said on Wednesday. With risks growing in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector globally, analysts and investors were looking to the Fed's "stress tests" for more insight on how exposed the country's lenders are to falling real estate prices. Commercial real estate (CRE), especially offices, has been hit by interest rates hikes and workers choosing to stay at home. The Fed's annual bank "stress tests" established following the 2007-2009 financial crisis probe how lenders would fare against an extreme scenario: a 40% decline in commercial real estate values. The average projected CRE loan loss rate across the group was 8.8% of average loan balances, compared with 9.8% last year, the Fed said.

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Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, Michelle Price, Pete Schroeder, Stephen Coates Organizations: Federal, Moody's Investors Service, Bank of America Corporation, of New York Mellon Corporation, Barclays US, BMO Financial Corp, Financial Corporation, Charles, Charles Schwab Corporation, Citigroup Inc, Financial Group, Inc, Suisse Holdings, DB USA Corporation, Goldman, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co, T Bank Corporation, Northern Trust Corporation, PNC Financial Services Group, RBC US Group Holdings, Street Corporation, US Holdings, Truist Financial Corporation, UBS, Holding, . Bancorp, & Company, Thomson Locations: Big U.S