MetLife may be exiting the residential lending business, but in the commercial mortgage business, it is going strong as it produced over $11 billion in new loans last year, its best year ever. In 2010, the company had production of $8 billion in commercial real estate loans.
Furthermore, MetLife has not confined its CRE lending activities to the U.S. The company said it did nearly $800 million in the United Kingdom, over $600 million in Mexico and 36 billion yen ($447 million) in Japan.
Robert Merck, senior managing director and global head of real estate investments for MetLife said "We are particularly attracted by the market opportunity in the U.K., where very favorable conditions continue for lenders like MetLife."
In the U.S., the company did a number of transactions with balances over $200 million, including two office buildings at $350 million for 1540 Broadway, located in New York; and $255 million for 155 North Wacker in Chicago. It also did two super-regional shopping malls: $360 million on Park Meadows in Denver and a $325 million loan on International Plaza in Tampa.
"We were able to originate top quality loans at yields that provided a pick-up of more than 100 basis points over comparable risk corporate bonds, adding long-term value to our investment portfolio,” said Mark Wilsmann, managing director and head of MetLife’s mortgage lending group.
As of Dec. 31, 2011, MetLife had a $40 billion commercial mortgage loan portfolio, up from $38 billion on the same day in 2010.
