Trimont Scores Major Deal Taking Over Wells Fargo’s CRE Loan Servicing Business
By Isabelle Durso August 20, 2024 3:31 pm
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Trimont will acquire a segment of Wells Fargo (WFC)’s loan servicing business, bringing roughly $475 billion of loans Trimont’s way, the companies announced Tuesday.
The Atlanta-based firm will buy Wells Fargo’s non-agency third-party commercial mortgage servicing (CMS) business and take over servicing of those loans from Wells Fargo, positioning Trimont as the “largest loan servicer in the U.S.,” Trimont CEO Bill Sexton told Commercial Observer.
The transaction, which was funded by Värde Partners and is expected to close in early 2025, will also bring Trimont’s portfolio to a combined $640 billion in loans in the U.S. — about 11 percent of the country’s CRE lending market — and more than $715 billion across the globe, Sexton said.
Sexton declined to provide the deal’s pricing details, but said it will allow Trimont to expand its business, “offer a wider service offering to our client base” and “capitalize on the market as we go through this refinancing cycle that is in front of us now.”
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to really grow our presence and position ourselves for what lies ahead in this stage in the cycle,” Sexton added.
As part of the transaction, 710 of Wells Fargo’s employees will be transitioning to Trimont when the deal closes, Sexton said.
For Wells Fargo, the deal will keep with its recent strategy to pare down its business lines to focus “on businesses that are core to our consumer and corporate clients,” Kara McShane, head of commercial real estate at Wells Fargo, said in a statement.
“We remain committed to our market-leading commercial real estate business, and we will continue to serve our clients with a broad suite of lending, advisory and capital markets capabilities while leveraging our franchise to grow our corporate and investment bank,” McShane added.
As of June 30, Wells Fargo serviced and sub-serviced $543 billion in commercial mortgages for other companies, according to an August filing. While it’s giving that up to Trimont, it will continue to service its own CRE loans on its balance sheet, Wells Fargo said Tuesday.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
