Zions Bancorporation has completed its purchase of the agency multifamily lending platform owned by Basis Multifamily Finance I, including staff and mortgage-servicing rights.
The price paid, as well as other terms of the deal, were not disclosed. The deal was first announced in March.
Basis Multifamily Finance I was a subsidiary of Basis Investment Group.
The price
Zions has a $14.1 billion commercial real estate portfolio, or 22% of its total loans, according to its second quarter earnings presentation.
Multifamily made up 30% of the commercial real estate portfolio and 7% of the total loan exposure at Zions, as of June 30. The average loan size was $5.6 million.
Term loan balances was $3.5 billion and construction was $0.7 billion, a slight gain over the second quarter 2025 when Zions had $3.1 billion in term balances and $0.9 billion in construction balances.
What this deal brings to Zions
"This acquisition bolsters our ability to serve our customers across the multifamily housing sector and is a natural extension of our commitment to supporting the development and preservation of the full spectrum of multifamily products, including workforce and affordable housing," said Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO of Zions, in a press release. "We look forward to working closely with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are pleased to welcome Basis' agency lending team to Zions as we continue to grow our multifamily business and meet the evolving needs of our customers."
On the second quarter earnings call, Simmons said Zions expected the financial benefits of this deal to gradually grow over time as the Basis platform is integrated and production volumes ramp up.
In response to a question on the earnings call, Ryan Richards, chief financial officer, said the acquisition "makes the business overall more durable, and it's still going to be lumpy. We know that, but it makes it a little bit less lumpy when you have that many businesses to draw upon."
A "win-win" for Basis and its agency team
From the seller's point of view, "This was a true win-win transaction," said Tammy K. Jones, founder and CEO of Basis Investment Group.
"We found the right long-term home for the agency platform where it can continue to scale and grow, while also establishing a strategic partnership with Zions that enhances financing and investment opportunities for our Funds platform, particularly in affordable and workforce housing," Jones explained.
Even after this transaction, Basis Investment will still be in the commercial real estate and multifamily finance business.
"Basis remains an active commercial real estate investor and lender with a continued focus on affordable and workforce housing through our Funds platform. We will continue investing across the U.S. and across the capital stack, including providing [general partner and limited partner] equity, bridge loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and other structured credit solutions," Jones added.
"So, while Basis will no longer originate Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans directly with this transaction now closed, through our strategic partnership with Zions, our sponsors will continue to have access to agency financing."
The GSEs' role in multifamily lending
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are significant investors in the multifamily lending arena.
Freddie Mac
However, Fannie Mae reported a decline in its acquisition volume in this segment to
The most recent Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations Index has the GSEs at 569 for the first quarter, down 35% from the fourth quarter's 874. But this was up by 38% from 413 for the first quarter of 2025.
Multifamily had an index value of 577, down by 28% from the fourth quarter's 804 but up from 388 one year ago.
For all forms of
