What happens in commercial real estate finance stays in commercial real estate finance. And the past 12 months have been on brand for what shaped up to be a tumultuous five years for all involved, with plot lines that rival the MAX series “The White Lotus.” 

If commercial real estate represents a White Lotus hotel, the financiers and brokers on this list are the fastidious concierges navigating the various characters and market situations checking in over the past 12 months — each with myriad complexities and needs. 

A glass of champagne may welcome these guests to their new loan. But when things don’t go quite according to plan, it takes savvy counterparties to get those guests to the other side of the trip fully intact — and our Power Finance honorees proved their might in doing just that. 

While the White Lotus guests can perhaps be likened to individual borrowers, they can also be compared with some of the curveballs that have checked into commercial real estate finance over the past five years. The pandemic was the one that closed the hotel down, and seeded doubt about its health going forward; rising interest rates were an abrupt overnight uptick in nightly rates at the hotel, leaving many guests with the realization they could no longer pay their bills; higher for longer saw many of those guests have to negotiate their dues or extend payment out to better days ahead (often with the help of a third party); and the volatility of the tariff war is the equivalent of a bedbug outbreak (is it safe to go back?!).

However, through it all, our Power Finance honorees are still standing and doing what they do best: Guiding borrowers through the market highs and lows, the expected and unexpected, and finding ways to push deals over the finish line. 

As with every year, ranking this list wasn’t easy. In the yearlong period ending March 31, 2025, much happened in real estate finance. After a slowish start to 2024, its fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2025 roared, loudly.

It was a big year for commercial mortgage-backed securities, particularly single-asset, single-borrower financings. Nonbanks took increased market share, and when banks were restricted in their lending capabilities, they found ways to stay busy by financing their nonbank peers. Advisory firms had their work cut out for them in what was a significant year for recaps and restructuring — with the firms that have such niche expertise in their playbook earning extra points in a pivotal year. 

It was a highly competitive year for lenders on our list, and we gave props to those who kept the market ticking over with their multiple irons in the fire and several different ways to finance borrowers irrespective of market conditions. Whether they were offering a suite of products, playing up and down capital stacks, buying loan pools or securities, or launching new partnerships, our top lenders are those that offered continuity, reliability, certainty of execution, critical expertise and a wee bit of scrappiness. 

Then, a market jolt arrived this month. Some honorees we spoke with said the high-powered speedboat that was the first quarter of 2025 might came to a sputtering slowdown when a finale-worthy plot twist appeared on April 2, in the form of the president’s crystalized tariff zinger. The stock market took a pummeling and market confidence went out the window as a question mark hung over what a trade war means for the industry. But, while this sucker punch might slow some on this list for a bit as the volatility continues, they’ll get right back up again — just as they’ve done these past five years. 

Welcome to Power Finance 2025, dear reader. Sit back, relax, have a cup of tea — or a stiff martini if it’s one of those days — and take a dip in the pools that hit Commercial Observer headlines this past year. Most importantly, meet the 50 firms that dedicated their time, skills and balance sheets to ensuring countless deals, and whose borrowers made it safely, and happily, through the year. Hats off to all!

Finally, as always, we asked our firms about their team profile, and their recruitment and retainment of diverse professionals today. Also as always, we believe diverse teams are the most powerful.