This year has been another doozy, with market participants continuing to navigate obstacles, risks and all-out threats that give the Hunger Games a run for their money. But do our lenders — which represent the coolest part of the capital stack — run? 

Heck no. 

Do they shake or quiver in their boots? 

Girl, please. 

Do they duck out when a difficult extension conversation arises with a borrower? 

Not on your life. 

Because, as Billy Ocean memorably sang: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” 

If ever there was a test of endurance, stamina and character, it’s been the past six years in the market, and it’s ongoing. Like sand in a suitcase, the ghosts of loans gone bad, blips, bumps and dislocation past keep sticking around, with only the most experienced and bravest equipped to exorcize them or catch them in a proton pack. In a swirling sea of uncertainty, new originations require a competitive edge coupled with a savvy approach, a keen eye and maybe a wee prayer from time to time. 

To understand the current financing landscape we asked 20 top lenders — at banks, non-banks, C-PACE and CMBS shops — to give us the skinny on how the past year has been for them, how they’re navigating loan extensions and higher-for-longer interest rates, where they’re finding opportunity, what they’re avoiding like the plague, and what 2027 may bring. 

We also asked some more lighthearted — yet critical — things we simply must know, like what they would have given T-Swift on her wedding day and the song they blast when they need to get pumped up for a meeting. Interestingly, some share the same song, perhaps showing that great minds truly do think alike. 

Settle in, pull up a pew, as Mrs. Doubtfire said, “Yo, yo, make a wicked cup of cocoa,” and dig in to Lenders 2026.