Paul Vanderslice.
Paul Vanderslice
CEO at CCRE
Last year's rank: 40
CCRE’s overhaul is what some investors have anecdotally described as a “textbook turn-around story.”
“The short version of the story is that we improved a platform that was reputationally challenged,” Paul Vanderslice said of his first full year behind the wheel at CCRE. “The CCRE team has done this by improving the origination process and the quality of the loans we originate.”
The platform is focused on four core areas: conduit CMBS, SASB, whole loans and agency CMBS.
Its 2019 originations topped $2.5 billion, up from $2 billion in 2018. In what was an impressive year, the platform improved its conduit league table ranking to No. 8 from No. 13 in 2018, and its overall league table ranking jumped to No.10 in 2019 versus No. 13 in 2018. CCRE’s conduit loan volume also grew 45 percent.
Digging deeper, the quality and metrics of CCRE’s loan production have also improved dramatically compared to past years. Its 2019 production had an average 55.5 percent loan-to-value (3 percent less than the industry average), its retail exposure was 8.6 percent (12 percent less than the market average), and its multifamily production was 30.5 percent (15.33 percent higher than the market average).
As if all that’s not impressive enough, CCRE reopened its conduit shelf with the CF 2019-CF1 deal in April, CF 2019-CF2 in September and CF 2019-CF3 in December. Each transaction was well received by the market.
The firm also contributed to its shelf over $1 billion of collateral across three transactions — partnering with heavy hitters such as Deutsche Bank, Starwood Property Trust, KeyBank and CIBC — and also contributed to nine other conduit deals.
On the SASB side, CCRE funded and executed four transactions and had lead right mandates on another four.
The firm also launched a floating-rate origination program and engaged in whole loan sales, selling seven loans totaling $224 million last year, and continued to grow its agency CMBS placement business with lead right mandates on two Freddie Mac multifamily deals and lead left on one deal.
Post-COVID CCRE is lending but, like most others, carefully.
“We’re being ultra-cautious,” Vanderslice said. “We’re currently originating loans for two upcoming deals and, hopefully, by September, you’ll see some regularity in the market.”—C.C.
