ORLANDO, FLA. — Wells Fargo Bank N.A. was the top commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer by volume for all of 2015, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The annual ranking was released Sunday during the opening day of the MBA’s 2016 Commercial Real Estate Finance and Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo at the Hyatt Regency Orlando.
The conference, which runs through Wednesday, Feb. 3, is expected to attract 3,000 commercial real estate finance professionals from across the industry. Under the big tent are mortgage bankers, life company and bank lenders, agency lenders, investment bankers, service providers and many others.
The MBA rankings also show Wells Fargo, PNC/Midland, KeyBank, and
Berkadia were the largest master and primary servicers of commercial/multifamily loans in U.S. commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS), collateralized debt obligations (CDO) and other asset-backed securities (ABS) during 2015.
A primary servicer is generally responsible for collecting loan payments from borrowers, performing property inspections and other property-related activities. A master servicer is typically responsible for collecting cash and data from primary servicers and then providing that cash and data, through trustees, to investors.
To view a copy of the report, click here.
Capital Spigot Remains Open
Kathy Marquardt, vice president of commercial servicing and council coordination for the MBA, says the mood of attendees heading into this week’s conference is “pretty upbeat” for a few reasons. The capital supply is plentiful and borrower demand remains strong thanks in part to interest rates that remain quite low by historical standards despite the recent quarter-point hike in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve. “No one is really anticipating any big disruption in the capital supply,” says Marquardt.
How the market responds to the new risk retention rules that will be implemented in the CMBS arena will be closely watched this year. Will it be seamless, for example? Section 941 of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act required federal agencies to jointly prescribe rules for the retention of credit risk for asset-backed securities, including CMBS.
Former head coach of the Fighting Irish, Lou Holtz, autographs a football for an admiring fan at the Hyatt Regency Orlando on Sunday.
The final rule calls for a five-year hold period for retaining the horizontal risk retention interest, which is considerably shorter than the life of the securitization as proposed in the original rule, according to the MBA’s website.
On Monday afternoon, Steven Schwartz, managing director of Torchlight Investors, will moderate a panel discussion on opportunities in high-yield finance — commonly referred to as gap financing. Mezzanine debt, preferred equity and bridge financing will be discussed in detail. With the large amount of commercial real estate loans coming due in 2016, what are the prospects for high-yield lenders to provide bridge financing?
Also on Monday afternoon, MBA’s Chief Operating Officer Marcia Davies will host a panel session on women in commercial and multifamily real estate finance. The event is billed as two hours of networking and learning.
On Sunday, MBA hosted a young professionals event designed to enable the up-and-coming players to network with their peers.
Political Season in Full Swing
The final closing session on Wednesday will examine how the outcome of the 2016 presidential and congressional elections could impact commercial mortgages. The featured speakers include Brad Cheney, associate vice president of legislative affairs for MBA, and Jim Ellis, president of Ellis Insight LLC. Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels.
Charles Krawitz, chief operating officer for Chicago-based Northpoint Capital Funding, told ReBusinessonline.com in a recent forecast survey that the market hates uncertainty and that bold agendas typically dominate the news during a presidential election.
“Despite the appeal of some of these proposals, the business community as a whole likes a consistent set of rules, and the prospect of radical change causes money to withdraw from the commercial real estate market in favor of more liquid investments,” says Krawitz. “In other words, money prefers to sit on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle.”
Hall of Famers in Spotlight
On a day in which the Pro Bowl grabbed the limelight nationally with Team Irvin defeating Team Rice 49-27 — and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completing 8-of-12 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns — the MBA’s opening reception on Sunday featured one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.
Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz autographed footballs and posed for photos with MBA fans who waited in line at the Hyatt Regency Orlando to meet the living legend. Holtz is the only coach in the history of college football to take six different teams to a bowl game, win five bowl games with different teams and to have four different college teams ranked in the Final Top 20 poll.
During the opening session on Monday, National Basketball Association (NBA) Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial tropics facing the nation today. At 7 feet, 2 inches tall, Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time NBA champion. A regular columnist for Time magazine and The Washington Post, Abdul-Jabbar emphasized that the deals mortgage bankers execute affect communities and lives. He said it’s important for the banking community to always be cognizant of its impact.
— Matt Valley