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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:

Aleksandrs Rozens

arozens@crefc.org

646-884-7567

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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: Investment-Grade Bondholders

November 20, 2023

Together, Richard, Rajesh, and Jane form the “Leadership Working Group” for the IG Bondholders Forums. This group sets the agendas and priorities for the Forum, as well as represents investors on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

Key Investment-Grade Bondholders Focus Areas:

• CRE CLO Surveillance template is being developed to provide standardized information to investors in a usable Excel-based format.
• Dialogue with stakeholders of the forum (IG investors) to understand their concerns and identify solutions.
• Work on improving reporting in Conduit and SASB transactions as the buy-side looks for standardized financials from borrowers and better disclosure from servicers with regard to loan modifications and fees.
• Leadership is concerned with loan extension risk as a result of higher interest rates; as a result, corporate single-A rated bonds continue to outperform AAA-rated CMBS.
• In the floating rate market, the replacement of SOFR caps upon expiration is an important topic, especially as loans lack the ability to cover debt service in the current interest rate environment. We continue to focus efforts on disclosure improvements and updating the IRP for these items.
• Transaction volumes are down considerably leading to decade low volume in the Conduit/SASB markets.

Looking ahead, leaders are focused on working with servicers to improve reporting accuracy and timeliness. Rising insurance costs in coastal markets put added stress on landlords.

Key Policy Issues:

• SEC’s Conflict of Interest in Securitization Proposal: The definitions are broadly written and could engulf numerous CMBS participants and a broad range of “conflicted activities” that go beyond shorting a transaction. CREFC submitted two comment letters on the issue and is engaging with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
• 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 look forward to presenting CREFC members with 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 IG Bondholders Forum, please register here. For any forum related questions, please contact Kathleen Olin at kolin@crefc.org

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Forum Spotlight: B-Piece Investors

November 13, 2023

Together, Jason, Peter, and Lyndsay form the “Leadership Working Group” for CREFC’s B-Piece Investors Forum. Importantly, this group — taking their cues from B-Piece Investor Forum members — sets the agendas and priorities for the Forum, as well as represents their constituencies on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

Key B-Piece Investors Focus Areas:

• Working to develop best practices for newly originated loans with regards to appropriate cash-management triggers and language to be implemented for “go-dark” provisions.
• Insurance premiums continue to be a focus as coastal markets are increasingly becoming cost prohibitive to obtain insurance required under standard loan agreements.
• Five-year CMBS transactions are driving volume and more transactions are getting done, but caution is still warranted as the dynamics for these transactions are still not tested.

Looking ahead: Rates appear to have peaked and hopeful stabilizing, allowing spreads to tighten and new-issue CMBS volume to grow relative to 2023. The Forum would like to continue the push toward better use of technology to improve the speed of reporting from borrowers to servicers and trustees to investors.

In 2024, B-Piece investors see key challenges as:

• Maintaining credit quality in the current rate environment as higher rates have pushed DSCRs to near historical lows.
• The office sector story is still unresolved. Valuations and ability to underwrite remain challenging.
• Diversity among pools is low, making the ability to manage risk more challenging.

Key Policy Issues:

• SEC’s Conflict of Interest in Securitization Proposal: The definitions are broadly written and could engulf numerous CMBS participants, including B-Piece investors, and a broad range of “conflicted activities” that go beyond shorting a transaction. CREFC submitted two comment letters on the issue and is engaging with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
• 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 look forward to presenting CREFC members with 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.

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Forum Spotlight: Servicing Administration and Special Situations 

November 6, 2023

Together, Leslie, Adam, Stacy, Tony, Pamela, and Andrea form the “Leadership Working Group” for the Servicing Administration and Special Situations Forums. The group sets agendas and priorities for the Forum, as well as represents the constituency on CREFC’s Policy Committee.

What’s new: The challenges in the market have caused renewed interest in the Servicers Forum.

• In June, the focus was on what servicers were seeing across markets for both performing and non-performing loans.
• Today, the focus is on non-performing loans, from all viewpoints—borrower, lender, and investor.
• There are no easy answers and the general consensus is that every loan and asset needs and will be individually evaluated for the option that yields the best results.

What is clear is that the playbook used in the GFC will not be the first place servicers look to for guidance in the current, very different environment.

Key Servicer Focus Areas

• Monitoring and tracking servicing activity;
• Complexity of non-recoverable advance decisions;
• Collateral/asset valuation;
• Rising delinquencies;
• Upcoming maturities and borrower ability to refinance; and
• Special Servicer remediation plans.

What they’re saying: Discussions focus on the following points:

• The transition from LIBOR to SOFR, which was scheduled to sunset shortly after the June conference and for which servicers were well prepared;
• Uncertainty around asset valuations and pricing of new loans;
• Exit strategies for loans in special servicing; and
• Borrowers looking for extensions and how they need to approach servicers with a clear exit plan and, in many cases, with collateral enhancements.

What's next: Servicers are highly focused on increased delinquencies, the volume of loans transferring to special servicing, the timing around exit strategies, and when valuations will stabilize. Servicing Forum leadership expects forum discussions at the January conference to focus on:

• The uncertainty surrounding valuations and the impact they will have on master and special servicer roles as liquidity providers; and
• What loans are in distress and what expectations are around exit strategies.

Key Policy Issues:

• SEC’s Conflict of Interest in Securitization Proposal: The definitions are broadly written and could engulf numerous CMBS participants, including servicers, and a broad range of “conflicted activities” that go beyond shorting a transaction. CREFC submitted two comment letters on the issue and is engaging with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
• Basel Endgame Capital Proposal: The federal banking regulators have proposed raising capital on banks with $100 billion assets and above. The complex proposal could have impacts on banks that service CMBS. CREFC is working on a comment letter ahead of the January 2025 deadline.

What’s Next: Forum Leaders look forward to presenting CREFC members with 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 Servicing Administration and/or Special Situations Forums, please register here. For any forum related questions, please contact Kathleen Olin.

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