RBC Launches U.S. Mortgage Cap Biz

RBC Capital Markets has announced the launching of its Real Estate Mortgage Capital business in the United States and the appointment of 20-year industry veteran Dan Smith to head the group.The new division will focus initially on providing commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, and plans to offer other commercial products, such as collateralized debt obligation loans, as the business develops, the company said. Mr. Smith was most recently at GE Real Estate, where he ran that company's North American real estate financing programs for 10 years. RBC Capital's CMBS platform in Canada closed $655 million of securitization volume last year, accounting for 20% of the Canadian CMBS market, the company said. In related news, RBC Capital Markets announced the appointment of Dan LePage as head of U.S. Real Estate Corporate Banking and the hiring of Kevin Stahl and Bryan Maher to its Real Estate Investment Banking Group.