Forum Spotlight: Portfolio Lenders
November 4, 2025
Together, Melissa Farrell and Bridget Scanlon (Forum Chairs), Kevin Catlett and Mauricio Duran (Chair-Elects), and Robert Grudzinski and Kevin Pivnick (Past-Chairs) form the Leadership Working Group for CREFC’s Portfolio Lenders Forum. They are supported by Farran Brown, the Young Professionals (YP) Representative for the Forum.
Chair duties include setting agendas and priorities for the Forum and representing the constituency on CREFC’s Policy Committee.
Why it matters: Each Forum interacts and addresses issues critical to their business sector and works to achieve solutions that serve a common purpose.
CREFC works closely with Forum leaders and members to:
- Ensure all voices are heard,
- Assist in finding consensus amidst disparate and converging views,
- Share those views when appropriate with regulators and legislators, utilizing CREFC’s experienced Government Relations Team, and
- Develop new best practices and monitor old ones.
Key Portfolio Lender Focus Areas
Valuation and Rates:
- Declines in valuations have continued to slow throughout 2025 with the bottom approaching.
- Supply has moderated as absorption continues.
- Loan risk ratings have largely stabilized.
- Overall transaction volume has increased in 2025 but still remains muted.
- Despite the rate declines throughout the year, interest rates remain elevated.
- Underwriting standards continue to be disciplined.
- Operating expense increases, particularly insurance and real estate taxes, have moderated but remain elevated compared to transactions acquired/underwritten several years prior.
Lending Pipeline and Appetite:
- Capital is plentiful with significant focus on private credit.
- Lending volume increased driven mainly by refinances with acquisition volume still muted.
- Increased competition is causing spread compression.
- Capital markets lending remains open from multiple sources and pipelines slowly continue to build heading into 2026. An uptick in refinancing activity has resulted in some portfolio lenders becoming increasingly focused on retaining existing loans and winning new quality business.
- Despite the rate decreases throughout 2025, shorter-term floating-rate and fixed-rate deals with prepayment flexibility remain the most attractive products for borrowers in the market.
- Rates continue to be a high focus with a current market expectation for at least one additional cut prior to the end of the year.
Asset Management:
- Recent improvement in capital markets conditions has created more tangible financing options for borrowers and increased refinancing activity, alleviating pressure on portfolio lender’s balance sheets.
- Lenders continue to address maturing or challenged loans with a variety of strategies, including loan sales, cooperative asset sales with seller financing, and modifications.
Capital Markets:
- Year-to-date SASB issuance is at a record pace ($76B through October 2025) and lenders are open for business as both transaction activity and loan refinancing pick up pace.
- Material increase in office loans ($25B of office issuance ytd 2025 vs. $8B of office issuance over the same period in 2024).
What They’re Saying: The effects of shifting policies on interest rates along with economic growth will materially influence lending strategies and market liquidity in 2026, but the expectation is for increasing growth targets for portfolio lenders.
Key Policy Committee matters:
- Basel Capital Proposal
- GSE Changes
- Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) Reauthorization
- Bipartisan Housing bills and Road to Housing Act
What's Next? Forum Leaders look forward to presenting CREFC members with an update on their forum at the CREFC January Conference in Miami. As June 2026 approaches, the chairs will seek nominations for the next Chair-Elect to join their leadership slate.