Wachovia Buys Lend Lease Mortgage

Wachovia Bank, Charlotte, N.C., has acquired Lend Lease Mortgage Capital in a deal that will strengthen Wachovia's presence in the multifamily lending and servicing arena.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition, made through Wachovia Multifamily Capital, is expected to add to Wachovia's servicing presence in the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration-insured lending programs. Wachovia's origination activities targeting multifamily project developers and property owners are also expected to grow. "The assets and the strong team from Lend Lease, combined with our recent acquisition of AMI Capital, give us scale in multifamily mortgage servicing," said Steve Jones, managing director of strategic investments in Wachovia's real estate capital markets unit. "These deals also round out the product offerings for our clients, and will enable us to significantly increase origination volumes in the multifamily sector." About 50 Lend Lease production and origination employees are joining Wachovia as a result of the deal. Wachovia had a total origination volume of $13.84 billion in 2002, ranking second in the commercial mortgage lending area, according to Mortgage Industry Directory, a MortgageWire affiliate.