Power Finance 2026: Who Jumped the Furthest?
And who made the biggest debuts?
By Andrew Coen April 21, 2026 8:00 am
reprints
This year’s Power Finance 50 list was relatively stable, but there were some notable risers among some private lenders, banks and brokerages.
Barings recorded the biggest ascent, jumping 10 spots from No. 43 to No. 33. The non-bank lender closed $5.1 billion of originations across its real estate debt platform in 2025, a 58.9 percent increase from 2024. The firm’s U.S debt portfolio consisted of 53 percent in the residential space, 23 percent in hotel and industrial assets, and with 8 percent in the office sector.
Five percent of Barings’ debt portfolio was invested in affordable housing in 2025, which was amplified when it provided a $133.4 million construction loan for the development of 22 Fulton Street, a mixed-income multifamily property in Newark, N.J., of which 80 units will be affordable.
M&T Realty Capital Corporation also made moves in Power Finance 2026, moving up six spots from No. 29 to No. 23.
M&T Bank upped its debt volume by 36.3 percent to $15 billion in 2025 and saw originations placed through the firm’s agency and mortgage arm, M&T Realty Capital, jump by 14.8 percent to a company record of $6.2 billion.
Bank of America rose five spots to No. 5 from No. 10 after a year in which the company displayed versatility across its commercial mortgage-backed securities, balance-sheet lending and affordable housing finance businesses.
The bank’s CMBS team, led by Ken Cohen, originated $10.6 billion, including $8.4 billion in single-asset, single-borrower deals and $2.2 billion in conduit transactions.
M&T’s commercial real estate banking team had a busy 2025 as well with $24 million of originations. The active year was capped by a $1.6 billion construction loan for a 72-story office project at 70 Hudson Yards as part of a $2.45 billion capitalization.
The Bank of America community development banking team executed $7.4 billion in debt and equity financing across 87 development projects in 68 cities to produce more than 11,000 affordable housing units.
Walker & Dunlop experienced the biggest ranking gain among brokerages, jumping to the No. 18 spot from No. 21 a year ago. The W&D institutional advisory team advised on or closed $23.8 billion of debt and equity transactions across 158 deals nationwide in the past 12 months.
Among the team’s signature deals was a $779 million construction financing arranged for 111 Wall Street in what marked the largest single-building conversion loan in New York City history.
Some of the biggest jumps are firms appearing on this list for the first time. Nomura’s commercial lending and CMBS platform, launched just seven months ago, makes its debut at a very respectable No. 26. Led by industry veterans Larry Kravetz and Frank Gilhool, Nomura has charged ahead into a variety of financing deals, and by March 2026 the young firm had crossed the $1 billion mark in client warehouse facilities.
Ares Real Estate, a more established firm, wasn’t far behind, debuting at No. 29, thanks largely to $5.7 billion in loan commitments in 2025. Nipping at Ares’ heel at No. 30 is Benefit Street Partners, which originated $9 billion in real estate investments last year.
On the advisory side, Morris Betesh and his Arrow Real Estate Advisors, launched in 2024, debuted at No. 40. Non-bank lender S3 Capital debuted at No. 46. Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors, turbocharged by the 2023 addition of Max Herzog and Marko Kazanjian, debuted at No. 47.
Welcome to the list, newbies, and bravo on the jumps, our established honorees.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
