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The CRE Finance Council Announces New Chairs for Industry Forums 

New Chairs and Chair-Elects Introduced at Annual June Conference

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) announced new Chairs for the 2025-2026 industry Forums. The new Forum leadership was elected at CREFC’s Annual June Conference in New York City on Tuesday.

CREFC’s Forums represent specific market constituencies that drive the U.S. commercial real estate finance industry. Forums include:

• Alternative Lenders and High-Yield Investors
• CMBS B-Piece Investors 
• CMBS Investment-Grade Bondholders 
• CMBS Issuers 
• CMBS Servicers 
  • Master Servicers
  • Special Servicers
• GSE/Multifamily Lenders 
• Portfolio Lenders
  • Bank Lenders 
  • Insurance Company Lenders 

Each Forum interacts and addresses issues critical to their business sector, while working to achieve solutions that serve a common purpose. CREFC’s Forums manage disparate and converging market views, advocate a consensus of positions to policymakers and lawmakers, educate members, develop market best practices and standards, and work to improve the entire commercial real estate finance market.
  
The incoming slate of Forum leaders includes:

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Forums Update: Issuers Spotlight

April 15, 2025

Brigid Mattingly (Chair), Shaishav Agarwal (Chair-Elect) and Jane Lam (Past-Chair) form the Issuer Forum’s “Leadership Working Group,” which sets agendas and priorities for the Forum and represents this constituency on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

Why it matters: Each Forum interacts with Issuer Forum members to address 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, working alongside CREFC’s experienced Government Relations Team, and
• Develop new best practices and monitor existing ones.

• Market volatility tied to tariff announcements and geopolitical instability.
• Preparing for continued volume in CMBS issuance, particularly in floating-rate single-asset/single-borrower (SASB) transactions.
• Challenges in securitizing pari-passu pieces considering conduit transaction sizes and the execution timing on conduit transactions.
• Managing office maturities in 2025 and the bifurcation between Class-A and Class-B properties and below.
• Value of cash-management structures in conduit lending and alternate credit enhancements.

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The CRE Finance Council Announces New Chairs for Industry Forums

June 11, 2024

New Chairs and Chair-Elects Introduced at Annual June Conference

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) announced today new Chairs for the 2024-2025 industry Forums. The new Forum leadership was introduced at CREFC’s Annual June Conference in New York City.

CREFC’s Forums represent specific market constituencies that drive the U.S. commercial real estate finance industry. Forums include:

• Alternative Lenders and High Yield Investors
• B-Piece Investors
• GSE/Multifamily Lenders
• Investment-Grade Bondholders
• Issuers
• Portfolio Lenders
• Servicers

Each of these Forums interacts and addresses issues critical to their business sector and works to achieve solutions that serve a common purpose. CREFC’s Forums manage disparate and converging market views, advocate a consensus of positions to policymakers and lawmakers, educate members, develop market best practices and standards, and work toward the betterment of the entire commercial real estate finance market.

The Incoming slate of Forum leaders includes:

Alternative Lenders & High Yield Investors: CREFC welcomes Rachel Hunter-Goldman (KKR) as Chair-Elect, Samantha Rotchford (MSD) as Chair, and Samir Tejpaul (Square Mile Capital Investments) as Past Chair.

B-Piece Investors: CREFC welcomes Frank Yin (KKR) as Chair-Elect, Peter Lindner (Rialto) as Chair, and Jason Nick (LNR) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Lyndsay Stephenson (Prime Finance Partners) served as Past Chair.

GSE/Multifamily Lenders: CREFC welcomes David Haynes (CBRE) as Chair-Elect, Ahmed Hasan (Capital One) as Chair, and Kate Whalen (BMO) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, the Past Chair was Emily Schultz (Berkadia Commercial Mortgage). Alonzo White (Fannie Mae) and Jason Griest (Freddie Mac) serve as government-sponsored enterprise representatives.

Investment-Grade Bondholders: CREFC welcomes Adam Smith (DWS) as Chair-Elect, Rajesh Bansal (Quiq Capital) as Chair, and Richard Razza (Webster Bank) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Jane Rivers (T. Rowe Price) served as Past Chair.

Issuers: CREFC welcomes Shaishav Agarwal (Deutsche Bank) as Chair-Elect, Brigid Mattingly (Wells Fargo) as Chair, and Jane Lam (Morgan Stanley) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, David Schell (BMO Capital Markets) served as Past Chair.

Portfolio Lenders – Banks: CREFC welcomes Kristin Khanna (Barclays) as Chair-Elect, Rob Grudzinski (U.S. Bank) as Chair, and Scott Dixon (Truist) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Jonathan Salzinger (Bank of America) served as Past Chair.

Portfolio Lenders – Insurance Company: CREFC welcomes Melissa Farrell (PGIM) as Chair-Elect, Kevin Pivnick (Blackstone) as Chair, and Chris Miculis (Nuveen) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Stefanie Stewart (Voya Investment Management) served as Past Chair.

Servicers – Servicing Administration: CREFC welcomes Dana Jo Martino (Berkadia) as Chair-Elect, Adam Fox (Fitch Ratings) as Chair, and Leslie Hayton (Wells Fargo) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Stacy Ackermann (K&L Gates) served as Past Chair.

Servicers – Special Situations: CREFC welcomes Alex Killick (CWCapital) as Chair-Elect, Pam Dent (Freddie Mac) as Chair, and Tony Yousif (SVN) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Andrea Helm (Midland Loan Services) served as Past Chair.

“We want to welcome the new members of our CREFC industry Forums and thank existing and past Forum members for their dedication and excellent work,” said Lisa Pendergast, Executive Director of CREFC.

“For 30 years, CREFC has served as the voice of the now $6 trillion commercial real estate finance industry and CREFC’s industry Forums continue to play a key role in ensuring all industry voices are heard and respected. CREFC’s Forums serve a vital industry function, as they represent key components of the CRE finance markets. A core function of Forum leaders is to work toward consensus among their constituents and then advocate those positions to other market segments and to policy and lawmakers. Forum leaders are also charged with assisting the development of industry best practices and implementing new initiatives critical to their business sectors. I and the entire CREFC community are grateful for our Forum leaders and their contributions and dedication to CRE finance.”

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The CRE Finance Council Announces New Chairs for Industry Forums

June 11, 2024

New Chairs and Chair-Elects Introduced at Annual June Conference

NEW YORK, June 11, 2024 – The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) announced today new Chairs for the 2024-2025 industry Forums. The new Forum leadership was introduced at CREFC’s Annual June Conference in New York City.

CREFC’s Forums represent specific market constituencies that drive the U.S. commercial real estate finance industry. Forums include:

• Alternative Lenders and High Yield Investors
• B-Piece Investors
• GSE/Multifamily Lenders
• Investment-Grade Bondholders
• Issuers
• Portfolio Lenders
• Servicers

Each of these Forums interacts and addresses issues critical to their business sector and works to achieve solutions that serve a common purpose. CREFC’s Forums manage disparate and converging market views, advocate a consensus of positions to policymakers and lawmakers, educate members, develop market best practices and standards, and work toward the betterment of the entire commercial real estate finance market.

The Incoming slate of Forum leaders includes:

Alternative Lenders & High Yield Investors. CREFC welcomes Rachel Hunter-Goldman (KKR) as Chair-Elect, Samantha Rotchford (MSD) as Chair, and Samir Tejpaul (Square Mile Capital Investments) as Past Chair.

B-Piece Investors: CREFC welcomes Frank Yin (KKR) as Chair-Elect, Peter Lindner (Rialto) as Chair, and Jason Nick (LNR) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Lyndsay Stephenson (Prime Finance Partners) served as Past Chair.

GSE/Multifamily Lenders: CREFC welcomes David Haynes (CBRE) as Chair-Elect, Ahmed Hasan (Capital One) as Chair, and Kate Whalen (BMO) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, the Past Chair was Emily Schultz (Berkadia Commercial Mortgage). Alonzo White (Fannie Mae) and Jason Griest (Freddie Mac) serve as government-sponsored enterprise representatives.

Investment-Grade Bondholders: CREFC welcomes Adam Smith (DWS) as Chair-Elect, Rajesh Bansal (Quiq Capital) as Chair, and Richard Razza (Webster Bank) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Jane Rivers (T. Rowe Price) served as Past Chair.

Issuers: CREFC welcomes Shaishav Agarwal (Deutsche Bank) as Chair-Elect, Brigid Mattingly (Wells Fargo) as Chair, and Jane Lam (Morgan Stanley) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, David Schell (BMO Capital Markets) served as Past Chair.

Portfolio Lenders – Banks: CREFC welcomes Kristin Khanna (Barclays) as Chair-Elect, Rob Grudzinski (U.S. Bank) as Chair, and Scott Dixon (Truist) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Jonathan Salzinger (Bank of America) served as Past Chair.

Portfolio Lenders – Insurance Company: CREFC welcomes Melissa Farrell (PGIM) as Chair-Elect, Kevin Pivnick (Blackstone) as Chair, and Chris Miculis (Nuveen) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Stefanie Stewart (Voya Investment Management) served as Past Chair.

Servicers – Servicing Administration: CREFC welcomes Dana Jo Martino (Berkadia) as Chair-Elect, Adam Fox (Fitch Ratings) as Chair, and Leslie Hayton (Wells Fargo) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Stacy Ackermann (K&L Gates) served as Past Chair.

Servicers – Special Situations: CREFC welcomes Alex Killick (CWCapital) as Chair-Elect, Pam Dent (Freddie Mac) as Chair, and Tony Yousif (SVN) as Past Chair. In 2023-2024, Andrea Helm (Midland Loan Services) served as Past Chair.

“We want to welcome the new members of our CREFC industry Forums and thank existing and past Forum members for their dedication and excellent work,” said Lisa Pendergast, Executive Director of CREFC.

“For 30 years, CREFC has served as the voice of the now $6 trillion commercial real estate finance industry and CREFC’s industry Forums continue to play a key role in ensuring all industry voices are heard and respected. CREFC’s Forums serve a vital industry function, as they represent key components of the CRE finance markets. A core function of Forum leaders is to work toward consensus among their constituents and then advocate those positions to other market segments and to policy and lawmakers. Forum leaders are also charged with assisting the development of industry best practices and implementing new initiatives critical to their business sectors. I and the entire CREFC community are grateful for our Forum leaders and their contributions and dedication to CRE finance.” 

Contact:

Mary Beth Ryan
Senior Director, 
Communications
646.884.7567
mryan@crefc.org

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Forum Spotlight: Issuers

December 11, 2023

Together, Jane, David, and Brigid form the “Leadership Working Group” for the Issuers Forum. Their duties include setting agendas and priorities for the Forum and representing the constituency on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

Why it matters: Each of the Forums 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,
• Sharing those views when appropriate with regulators and legislators, utilizing CREFC’s experienced Government Relations Team,
• Develop new best practices and monitor old ones.

Key Issuer Focus Areas

• Building conduit pools to balance investor preference and borrower demand
• Solving for risk retention amidst lopsided origination volume among sellers
• Managing deal timing given new filing requirements
• Maintaining open dialogue with other market participants to help promote responsible lending, including incorporating feedback on structural and documentation enhancements necessary to improve both the borrower experience and loan performance
• Actively working to increase 10-year loan origination volume, while keeping keep B-piece investors engaged in today’s 5-year CMBS transactions.

Looking ahead: Leaders are concerned about continued lackluster origination volume, the lack of property-type diversification, and regulatory concerns such as the SEC’s Conflict of Interest and the Basel III End Game. That said, the Forum remains focused on sourcing loans and bringing securitizations to market, bridging the demands between borrowers and investors.

Key Policy Issues:

• SEC’s Conflict of Interest in Securitization Rule: On November 27, the SEC published its final rule on Conflicts of Interest in Securitization. CREFC submitted two comment letters on the issue and engaged with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The final rule included changes that addressed some of CREFC’s concerns such as narrowing the definition of “sponsor” to exclude some service providers, “long-only investors” exercising contractual rights, and allowing certain affiliates to be excluded from the rule.
• SEC Timely Filing Issue: On August 30, SEC staff issued a Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (CDI) on Reg AB that could be read to require the filing of a final prospectus two business days after the first time of sale, whether or not the final prospectus has been used. The change upends the filing timeline regulations for CMBS. CREFC has been working with members and the SEC to address the issue.
• 15c2-11 Public Disclosure of 144A Bond: The SEC recently issued an order exempting 144A fixed-income securities from 15c2-11 disclosure. CREFC and its members urged the SEC and Congress to take action to prevent the application of 15c2-11 to fixed income securities. The exemption order is a major win for the industry.

What’s Next?

• Forum leaders will present an update on their Forum at the Annual January Conference in Miami.
• Soon after, the chairs will seek nominations for the next Chair-Elect to join their leadership slate.

To join the Issuers Forum, please register here. For any forum related questions, please contact Kathleen Olin (kolin@crefc.org) or Lisa Pendergast (lpendergast@crefc.org).

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Forum Spotlight: Issuers 

March 6, 2023

Together, David, Jane and Dan form the “Leadership Working Group” for the Issuers Forum. The group sets agendas and priorities for the forum and represents the issuer community on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

Key Issuers Focus Areas

• Maintaining disciplined underwriting practices that account for today’s increased uncertainty around certain asset classes and today’s higher interest rate environment
• Navigating evolving preferences of investment-grade bondholders and B-piece buyers
• Restoring robust issuance of CRE CLOs while SOFR remains elevated and transaction volumes remain low
• Ensuring that we proactively manage regulatory changes and retrospectively evaluate previously implemented regulatory measures, such as risk retention, to determine if modifications are necessary

Looking ahead, CMBS and CRE CLO issuers are cautiously optimistic that more meaningful issuance returns in 2H23 as capital markets stabilize and issuers capitalize on increased borrower demand for shorter term, fixed rate loans. In the interim, we remain focused on improving transparency, liquidity, and performance with the goal of making CMBS more competitive and increasing market share.

Key Policy Issues:

• SEC’s Conflicts of Interest in Securitization Proposal: The proposal would limit CMBS and CRE CLO sponsors from certain transactions in the first year after issuance.
• Addressing a threat to 144A markets (15c2-11): An SEC application of 15c2-11 to fixed income could require public information disclosure on SASB and CRE CLO transactions starting in 2025.
• SEC’s Climate Reporting Rule: The final rule is expected imminently. While the rule will not cover ABS, the framework is expected to be a key standard for all climate reporting in the financial space.

What’s Next: Forum Leaders are seeking nominations for the next Chair Elect to join their leadership slate and look forward to presenting CREFC members with an update on their forum at the Annual June Conference in New York City.

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