Nomura Taps Barclays’ Larry Kravetz, Frank Gilhool to Restart CRE Lending Business

Nomura Holdings, one of the early adopters of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) lending in the 1990s, is reviving the business three decades later with help of some senior hires from Barclays. 

The Japanese financial services company announced Wednesday the formation of a U.S.  commercial real estate lending platform to be led by industry veterans Larry Kravetz and Frank Gilhool. Both recently departed Barclays, where they turned the investment banking giant into a veritable force in the debt markets. 

Kravetz will take on the role as head of U.S. CRE and CMBS, while Gilhool will lead U.S. CRE  warehouse financing. 

Nomura will be relaunching its U.S. CMBS arm 27 years after exiting the business that had once been led by Ethan Penner.  

“By combining origination, financing, structuring and distribution under one platform, and bringing  together a highly experienced team, we’re enhancing our ability to deliver differentiated solutions,” Gordon Sweely, global head of securitized products and private credit, said in a statement.

Kravetz and Gilhool’s departure from Barclays was first reported by GlobalCapital. 

Nomura also announced additional hires from Barclays for its CRE lending platform in Andy DiPietro, Mike Fedorochko, Luke Power, Adam Scotto and Pete Taylor.

Kravetz and Gilhool were regular honorees in Commercial Observer’s Power Finance 50 as one of the nation’s top CMBS lending teams. In 2024, Barclays ranked eighth for U.S. CMBS volume, according to Green Street, with $8 billion of originations accounting for 7.6 percent market share.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.