NEW YORK CITY — SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) has committed $5 billion to fund commercial mortgages originated by MetLife (NYSE: MET).
Atlanta-based SunTrust has agreed to fund MetLife's newly formed real estate investment management platform, MetLife Real Estate Investors, for three years. MetLife Real Estate Investors originates and manages commercial mortgages on behalf of institutional investors.
“We welcome SunTrust as a client and partner as it brings strong regional and national expertise that complements our long standing real estate investment heritage,” says Steven Goulart, executive vice president and COO of MetLife Inc. “This unique partnership supports our larger strategy to provide innovative and reliable investment vehicles to our clients.”
MetLife is one of the largest portfolio lenders in the industry with $43.1 billion in commercial mortgages outstanding at the end of 2012, and with more than $9.6 billion in commercial mortgage loan originations in 2012.
“Our goal is to be one of the top five institutional real estate investment managers, and with this mandate from SunTrust, we are confident the company is headed in the right direction,” says Robert Merck, global head of MetLife Real Estate Investors.
As of June 30, SunTrust had a total of $171.5 billion in assets and total deposits of $127.6 billion. Through its flagship subsidiary, SunTrust Bank, the company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
“As the commercial real estate market continues to regain its footing, we are actively seeking opportunities that make sense for our clients, SunTrust and our investors,” says Walt Mercer, executive vice president and head of commercial real estate at SunTrust. “This agreement with MetLife, a proven and well-respected real estate investment leader, satisfied all of our criteria and we look forward to its potential.”
SunTrust’s stock price closed at $35.42 per share on Monday, up from trading at $24.30 per share one year ago. MetLife’s stock price closed at $50.53, up from $34.31 a year ago.