Allison Bisbey

Just one year after it got a $1.05 billion loan from a trio of banks (Goldman, BofA and Citi), Blackstone has obtained a new, $1.3 billion loan from two more banks: Barclays and Deutsche.

The security that was incorporated into the index is backed exclusively by loans on green building certified properties; the GSE is still working on acceptance of financing for green upgrades.

Commercial banks typically compete with CMBS, but this Delaware state chartered bank is securitizing 30 floating-rate loans secured by 35 apartment complexes, retail and office buildings.

Essent Guaranty is marketing $360.75 million of notes linked to the performance of a pool of residential mortgages that it insures; its following in the footsteps of Arch Capital.

Over 40% of the collateral is from two 2016-vintage transactions that were recently "collapsed" because proceeds from liquidations had slowed. Then there's the exposure to Puerto Rico.

The $446 million Pearl Street Mortgage Company 2018-1 Trust is backed by 30-year, fixed-rate loans with credit characteristics in line with recent private-label prime jumbo transactions rated by Fitch Ratings.

LendingClub, Marlette and others are looking at additional changes to both their securitization and whole-loan-sale programs that could further broaden their investor bases.

Participants at the Structured Finance Industry Group conference in Las Vegas say that future deals could be linked to the performance of jumbo, as well as conforming loans.

Greenworks CEO Jessica Bailey said execution was good enough that it made economic sense; the company also wanted an early reading from rating agencies and investors.

Lender and servicers are increasingly using nontraditional methods such as "hybrid" appraisals and broker price opinions in an attempt to cut costs, but some are more reliable than others.

Most of the collateral was acquired over the past year; that’s in contrast with the sponsor’s previous two transactions, in which a portion of the collateral was seasoned and refinanced from earlier transactions.

Moody's considers the $932.4 million TPG Real Estate Finance Trust 2018-1 to be highly leveraged, though not as highly leveraged as Blackstone's inaugural transaction.

The Trepp CMBS Delinquency Rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in CMBS is now 4.83%, a decrease of six basis points from the December level.

Varde VMC Lender, a Minneapolis firm specializing in distressed commercial real estate, has branched out to financing offices and apartment buildings being upgraded or repurposed.

The Blackstone affiliate is cashing out over $200 million of home price appreciation in the process, resulting in a loan-to-value ratio that is unchanged from the original Colony American Homes transactions.

The Taxs Cuts and Jobs Act preserves most of existing benefits for owners, operators, and investors, and provides a few new perks as well; there are some trade-offs to be made, however.

A group of reinsurers has committed to provide up to $650 million of coverage for credit risk on some $21 billion of 30-year, fixed-rate loans that the government-sponsored agency will acquire over the next two years.

The Trepp CMBS Delinquency Rate ended the year at 4.89%, a decrease of 29 basis points from the November level. That’s the largest monthly drop since January 2016.

Some commercial buildings that are not required to obtain earthquake insurance may still be susceptible to significant structural damage that could put the borrowers at risk of default, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Speculators who bet on declines in commercial mortgage bond indexes as a way to profit from the expected demise of regional shopping malls may still be waiting for a big payout, according to Trepp.