Boston, MA, January 25, 2010 – CWCapital LLC (CW), a subsidiary of CW Financial Services, and a full-service, national lender to the multifamily and healthcare real estate industries, today announced it closed over $1.3 billion in loans through its Agency lending platform in 2009, representing substantial growth for the company in what continues to be a “down” commercial and multifamily real estate market.
Over $1 billion of CW’s loans closed were originated through the firm’s Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs, representing a considerable increase in CW’s national market share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac originations. FHA originations also reached an historical high for CW, with closings in 2009 reaching over $330 million. The platforms are expected to continue to grow at a record pace throughout 2010, with current projected loan closings in excess of $2 billion for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA. This unprecedented volume is anticipated to continue to increase overall market share for CW, further positioning the firm as one of the premier multifamily lenders in the industry.
Michael Berman, President and CEO of CWCapital, commented on the significance of the increased production. “Growth of this magnitude in a down market is a testament to the strength of our multifamily lending platform. The significance of these increases becomes even more meaningful when compared to a substantial decrease, industry wide, in overall GSE loan closings. At the bottom of the economic cycle, we believe that we are now making some of our best loans. Our vertically integrated platform, an exceptionally strong, AAA-rated parent, and our team of the most talented professionals in the industry have allowed us to be innovative, proactive and opportunistic in our approach to expanding our multifamily business and increasing our market share. ”
Throughout 2009, CW continued its commitment to expanding the firm’s multifamily lending platform, adding approximately 20 staff, including an office in Irvine, California via the acquisition of Sierra Capital Partners. Earlier in the year, the company formed a joint venture, ARA Finance, with Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), the industry’s premier multifamily investment sales firm. ARA Finance is a national platform that provides a full range of mortgage finance services directly to ARA clients. CW is actively seeking highly experienced lending professionals and is committed to further expanding production capacity of its national platform.
Donald King, Managing Director of CW’s Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs, commented further on the firm’s expansion. “CW has been strategically growing its multifamily business since early 2007. We have taken several steps to expand our platform geographically, increase production and enhance our already highly skilled staff with some of the top talent in the industry. We will continue with similar initiatives in 2010 and are confident that we will not only continue to experience growth in our closing volume, but will be extremely well positioned as the economy and multifamily real estate market begin to rebound.”
Ellen Kantrowitz, Managing Director of CW’s FHA platform added, “We are also being opportunistic in capitalizing on our depth of expertise in FHA lending, and in presenting these finance alternatives to buyers and investors unfamiliar with these programs. This has allowed us to build many new relationships that we will continue to develop and expand upon in the coming years, positioning ourselves for further growth.”
Both King and Kantrowitz also added that the GSEs and FHA introduced program enhancements in 2009 that showcased and improved their ability to compete in the current real estate market. These enhancements included the Freddie Mac CME program the FHA’s LEAN processing.
About CWCapital
CWCapital (CW) is a leading, national full-service lender to the multifamily and commercial real estate industries offering Fannie Mae DUS, Freddie Mac and FHA finance programs. A member of the CW Financial Services (CWFS) vertically integrated family of companies, which also includes CWCapital Investments and CWCapital Asset Management, CW has closed over $11 billion in loans since 2005 and currently services approximately $11.5 billion of loans in 48 states. The company generally services all loans that it originates as well as loans for institutional investors.
CWFS employs approximately 330 employees located in 12 offices nationwide, and through CWCapital Investments and CWCapital Asset Management, is the named special servicer on CMBS transactions backed by $174 billion of multifamily and commercial loans representing approximately 14,000 mortgages. For more information, visit www.cwcapital.com.
Otéra Capital, a Montreal-based mortgage lender, holds a majority interest in CWFS. Otéra Capital offers a wide array of commercial real estate debt services from origination and underwriting to asset management, along with a sophisticated range of products extending from conventional mortgages to structured products. Otéra is active in Canada, the United States and Europe and is a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of the leading institutional fund managers in Canada and the United States. For more information, visit www.oteracapital.com.