Committees

Members Leading Our Initiatives

Our committees are made of member volunteers committed to furthering the success of our association. Most committees are closed and members are selected from our forums and our general membership. Explore the committees and their work below.

Audit Committee

Chair: Adam Behlman, Starwood Property Trust
Staff Liaison: Edward DeAngelo, Senior Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer

Purpose: Oversees any audit of CRE Finance Council's books and records, including determining the necessity, frequency and scope of audits, and approving the selection, retention, termination and compensation of an accounting firm to perform such audits; shall take appropriate actions to promote a system of internal controls relating to CREFC’s financial books and records, including retaining an accounting firm to formally review such controls; consider from time to time the appropriateness and adequacy of CRE Finance Council's accounting policies and procedures; and the required skill sets of the external accountants engaged by CRE Finance Council; report the results of audits and control reviews to the Board of Governors; report the Committee’s activities to the Board of Governors at least annually; update the scope of the Committee’s responsibilities on an as-needed basis.

Closed Committee

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Advocacy

CREFC Government Relations: Shaping Our Industry

CREFC’s Government Relations team serves as the primary interface between the CRE Finance industry and policymakers. Through a collaborative process with our members, CREFC engages with legislators, regulators, and other policy stakeholders to advocate for policies that promote the interests of our membership and the broader industry.

By joining a CREFC Forum, members are able to participate in the creation of official policy positions and will gain access to regular updates from our Government Relations team on the latest regulatory developments.

View our recent policy wins and sign up for a CREFC Forum below to join our advocacy efforts and make a difference in the direction of our industry. Please contact David McCarthy with any questions.

Election 2024 Scenario Analysis: Potential Outcomes for CRE and Multifamily Finance

The below documents aim to highlight key issues in the commercial and multifamily real estate finance industry and how different election scenarios shape policy in 2025. While members of CREFC's Government Relations team will not predict the electoral outcome, the goal is to dig deeper into some of the factors that influence a particular area of legislation or regulation.

CREFC Election 2024 Scenario Analysis (10/28/24)
CREFC Election 2024 Scenario Analysis (10/22/24)
CREFC Election 2024 Scenario Analysis (10/8/24)

Recent Policy Developments (as of Q3 2024)

Basel Endgame Advocacy
The federal banking regulators plan to repropose the Basel Endgame Capital rules with significant changes. CREFC had submitted comments and coordinated a real estate industry letter on proposed rules and is waiting for the re-proposal to see the extent to which our comments were taken into consideration. CREFC plans to continue advocacy as needed following the release of the re-proposal.

Tax Policy Working Group
Convened a group of member experts on tax to analyze and triage key tax priorities ahead of 2025. With the expiration of key provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress is expected to take up a tax bill next year. CREFC will engage with lawmakers and staff on key tax issues through the end in preparation the tax push early next year.

15c2-11 No Action Letter Expiration
CREFC is engaging with CMBS broker dealers on the upcoming application of 15c2-11 public data requirements for conduit CMBS. While CREFC and other trades successfully exempted 144A bonds from the public disclosure requirements, the public CMBS requirements are scheduled to come online in January 2025. CREFC will follow up with the SEC and/or on Capitol Hill as necessary.

Conflicts of Interest Rule
Successfully advocated for narrowing the overly broad scope of the SEC’s Conflicts of Interest in Securitizations rule to target conflicted transactions and relevant parties more appropriately. CREFC partnered with other organization on an implementation toolkit.

More Advocacy Resources

CREFC Policy and Capital Markets Briefing

Read the latest issue of CREFC's weekly Policy and Capital Markets Briefing

CREFC Policy Tracker

CREFC’s Policy Tracker includes a variety of visual aids and updates to help members understand, track, and analyze key policy issues affecting the CRE and multifamily finance industry.

ESG Initiatives

CREFC’s Sustainability Initiative seeks to align the objectives of our members and the CRE finance industry with the opportunities and challenges of environmental, social and corporate sustainability.

Read the Latest Government Relations Alerts

For our weekly government relations and industry policy briefings, please visit our Document Resource Center. The Document Resource Center contains CREFC position papers, analyses, testimony, and other policy tools.

Advocacy

Learn

Grow Your Expertise

CREFC has everything you need to grow your career and stay current with the industry. We provide educational programs that are timely and responsive to the changing market, keeping all our members up-to-date on current issues and best practices. From mentorship programs to courses, your CREFC membership gives you access to a growing pool of resources to help you become a competent commercial real estate professional, whether you are in school or moving to our industry later in your career. Explore your opportunities below.

Learning Opportunities

Resource Center

The CREFC Resource Center houses data and research on all facets of CRE and multifamily finance. This members-only portal not only contains CREFC developed content, but also the highly valued and well sought after reports and thought leadership pieces published by our members.

CRE and Multifamily Finance in the Spotlight

Monthly thought leadership articles are published to inform, educate and stimulate meaningful discussions and exchanges on the issue and trends of the entire commercial real estate finance industry.

CRE Finance Data

A compilation of data on the current state of the CRE market with a primary focus on the debt capital markets.

CRE Finance Council's Education Portal

Explore CREFC’s educational offerings at your own pace and on your schedule. On-demand videos and video series will expand your knowledge on a variety of industry-focused topics.

Investor Reporting Package (IRP)

The CRE Finance Council Investor Reporting Package (CREFC IRP) is a transparent, standardized set of loan, property, bond and deal level information including numerous report format standards. It also includes guidelines and methodologies to be used in connection with the loan administration required to aggregate and ultimately report all such information.

Featured Events

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Events

Conferences & Programs

The CRE Finance Council holds two premier conferences each year in the United States: the January Conference in Miami and the June Annual Conference in New York. Conference programming addresses the most relevant topics facing the industry, presented by recognized finance leaders.

Complementing these major conferences are After-Work Seminars, Young Professional, Women's Network, and Educational events held regularly throughout the calendar year, each of which is tailored to fit the constituencies served by CREFC.

Calendar of Events

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Featured Events

Events

NCREIF/CREFC Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate

CREFC has teamed up with NCREIF to produce and promote the NCREIF/CREFC Open-end Debt Fund Aggregate (the “Debt Aggregate”). In short, this product will deliver a fund-level compilation of open-end debt funds providing financing to commercial and multifamily real estate borrowers/owners. The Debt Aggregate will be issued in a draft “consultation” format for at least one year, which allows time for industry feedback before it is rolled out as an official product.

For questions or to get involved, contact Lisa Pendergast

NCREIF/CREFC Open-end Debt Fund Aggregate Third Quarter 2024 Public Snapshot Report

CREIF/CREFC Open-end Debt Fund Aggregate Third Quarter 2024 Membership Report

Overview of Debt Fund Index
(presentation slides from CREFC's September 28, 2023 Capital Markets Conference)

Watch the Video
(video replay from CREFC's September 28, 2023 Capital Markets Conference)

NCREIF/CREFC Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate

DEI COMMITTEE

DEI Portal

LEARN

CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance

YOung PROFESSIONALS

The mission of the Young Professionals (YP) Network is to provide a platform for junior CRE finance professionals to foster meaningful business relationships and gain relevant industry knowledge through networking events, seminars and panels.

YP programming events are developed by YPs – so the content is current and applicable in their daily work. Each YP educational event includes a networking aspect to build and foster industry relationships with both peers and seasoned industry leaders. YPs are surveyed by region for ideas for future programming to ensure educational and industry needs are met.

Additionally, there are networking only events held in a more relaxed atmosphere where YPs can mingle among their peers.

There is a discounted rate to conferences and seminars for those CREFC Members 30 years of age or younger. To sign up for the 30 and Under Program Rate join the network and ensure that you check off the box “I would like to sign up to receive the “30 and Under Program Rate”. You will be required to submit photo ID to be approved for the discounted program rate.

Sign up TodayCREFC members Only

Sign-up for the Young Professionals Network

Take your career to the next level with our programming, mentoring, career planning, and continuing education.
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Young Professionals

WOMEN'S NETWORK

Women's Network

Looking for networking, learning opportunities, and professional development? Join women professionals in the CRE industry in networking and educational events throughout the year. Our mission is to enhance the visibility, profile, and advancement opportunities of women in the commercial real estate finance industry, provide a structured platform within CREFC dedicated to women's initiatives and provide opportunities for networking, mentoring, and development of professional women. With members all across the country, we are the largest network of professional women in the industry.

Join Us Today

Women's Network

Engage

CRE Finance Council Forums

Sign Up for Forum

Forums

About Us

Leadership

The affairs of CRE Finance Council are managed by a Board of Governors, selected from the general membership, which meets at least two times a year. During the periods the Board is not convened, the Executive Committee has full authority to transact all CRE Finance Council business. The Executive Committee is made up of the chair, chair-elect, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, membership chair, administrative executive, as well as four additional Executive Committee members. View the CREFC By-Laws.

2024 - 2025 Executive Committee

Leadership