Conduits Aren’t Dead
Posted by Jordan Crouch on October 26, 2007
The Dirt Attorney confirmed this for me yesterday. Macquarie bank has poached several higher-ups from LaSalle Bank’s conduit division in order to form its own. Nate Stearns will be the executive director. Even though Macquarie is Australia’s largest bank, the new conduit will be located in Chicago (home to LaSalle). This is a sign that the CMBS market is far from being down and out.
Update: (12/9) The conduits are dead again. They are not quoting deals. Or when they are quoting a deal, the quote is ridiculously high. The certainty of execution with a conduit is practically zero, making any quote you do get worthless until the day the loan closes.
David Stejkowski said
FYI: There was also an advertisement in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune looking for several mid-level types CMBS folks, as well as a lawyer/deal structuring person. My wife has already eliminated me from candidacy for the position, even though it sounds interesting.
Jordan Crouch said
Thanks for the heads up. I saw a similar ad in the Commercial Mortgage Alert last week.
Larry Vingelman said
Hi Jordan:
I am a mortgage originator in Michigan doing commercial hard money transactions primarily on light industrial properties. Many of our hard money sources say they are pre-screening our transactions. Evidently, they are funding the deal with investor funds, and then quickly selling the loan into the secondary market. Can you tell me who these secondary market players are? Do you know if a list is available?
Thanks for your help.