Greystone Hires Former Freddie Mac Multifamily Leader Debby Jenkins
By Andrew Coen September 5, 2023 3:28 pm
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Debby Jenkins, former head of Freddie Mac (FMCC)’s multifamily business, has joined Greystone as an executive managing director to help spearhead its housing strategy, the commercial real estate lender announced Tuesday.
Jenkins, who began the newly created role Tuesday, will be focusing on growing Greystone’s mission-driven strategies that include the firm’s social impact and affordable housing platforms.
The CRE finance veteran spent nearly 15 years at Freddie Mac, from 2008 to 2021, the last three of which as executive vice president and head of multifamily business. She will split her time between Greystone’s New York headquarters and her home base of Washington, D.C.
“The prospect of having the tools and the team to build what is possible for affordable and social impact housing is what drew me to this opportunity at Greystone,” said Jenkins in a prepared statement. “I’m thrilled to take on a new challenge and contribute to the greater impact we, along with our clients, can make together for those who rely on critical affordable housing.”
In Jenkins’s last full year at Freddie Mac in 2020, the government-sponsored enterprise was the nation’s largest capital conduit for multifamily housing, with more than $78 billion in loan purchases mandated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Freddie Mac’s record-breaking origination volume in 2020 involved $75.5 billion worth of Freddie securitizations including $61.5 billion from its K-Series, a program that offers guaranteed senior and interest-only classes of loans.
After departing Greystone in late 2021, Jenkins joined Boca Raton, Fla-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate as head of housing. In January 2023 she was named CEO of Comunidad Credit Capital, a new impact credit platform launched by Comunidad Partners.
“Debby is a true visionary in our industry, and her diverse expertise in leading the nation’s largest mission-driven multifamily finance platform aligns with our goals in becoming a social impact housing leader,” Steve Rosenberg, CEO of Greystone, said in a statement. “I can’t wait to see what Debby accomplishes in her role here at Greystone and know that the sky’s the limit with her capabilities.”
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com
