Commercial lending

The mortgage real estate investment trust sector is diversifying as margin compression and bank apprehension changes market dynamics, according to reports from Kroll Bond Ratings and Fitch Ratings.

Deutsche Bank, Jefferies and UBS have set final pricing terms on $1.35 billion in commercial mortgage bonds, according to a regulatory filing.

Walker & Dunlop, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Lean 232 program, closed the first Rental Assistance Demonstration program loan for a health care facility.

After it all but stopped making real estate and development loans following the housing crash, Farmers & Merchants Bank has increased its real estate loans by more than 61% over the last two years. It's a figure that’s likely to keep rising as California's real estate market heats up and the $5.6 billion-asset bank continues to add commercial real estate, construction and mortgage lending specialists to keep pace.

New York City's affordable housing stock will get a boost from Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. as part of settlements resolving mortgage-bond practices that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service is raising the cost of its home-loan guarantees that enable borrowers to purchase homes in certain areas without down payments.

Life insurance companies reported a higher return on their private commercial mortgage investments in the first quarter, compared to the fourth quarter.

Westcor Land Title Insurance in Maitland, Fla., has opened its first New York office as it looks to expand in the market for commercial underwriting.

Bankers and commercial real estate developers are protesting new restrictions on construction lending, arguing they are poised to hurt credit availability and drive loans into risky, unregulated sectors.

Velocity Commercial Capital, better known for lending on distressed commercial property, is behind the latest securitization of single-family rental properties, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Wells Fargo has hired two executives to expand its lending for manufactured housing, following the San Francisco company's purchase of a multibillion-dollar loan portfolio from GE Capital.

Varde Partners has closed a $500 million fund that will invest in real estate securities, the firm announced this week.

InHouse Connexions has released a new software product for commercial lenders and appraisers for valuing properties.

Wells Fargo has hired a new head of commercial real estate lending for its Orange County, Calif., office.

Deutsche Bank priced most tranches issued from its $1 billion commercial mortgage securitization wider than the last conduit issued, according to a regulatory filing.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt increased in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, as mortgage originations remained strong, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

RealtyMogul.com said it reached agreements for a total of $250 million in capital, which it will use to offer new products.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has named a new head of commercial real estate lending after its current leader resigned.

Life insurers increased their rate of investment in mortgages in 2014, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

Small banks and nonbank lenders are originating commercial mortgages with lower credit quality than the loans originated by large banks, according to a Fitch Ratings report.