Neal Casey.
Neal Casey, 31
Director at UBS
Several young professionals on this list are in the billion-dollar club, and Neal Casey is one of them. At the tender age of 31, he’s closed more than $2.1 billion in loans and there’s no sign of him slowing any time soon.
As a director at UBS, working alongside Commercial Observer Power Finance mainstay Chris LaBianca, Casey is focused on loan originations for both balance sheet and commercial mortgage-backed securities products — although the former has been occupying more of his time of late.
“I’ve been heavily focused on our balance sheet product, which we recently launched,” Casey said. “We’ve been traditionally focused on CMBS, but have pivoted to expand our product offering — which has been really exciting for us.”
The balance sheet offering has been well-received in the market, Casey said, and his team is excited about what it can continue to offer clients.
That’s not to say that CMBS is getting the cold shoulder. As one of the first forms of financing to re-emerge when COVID-19 hit, the CMBS sector took many by surprise. “I think it’s a testament to the market’s ability to change as market conditions change,” Casey said.
Today, a boom in CMBS originations is being driven by “an exceptional amount of demand on the secondary market for paper,” Casey said. “I guess the takeaway is it’s a great time to be a borrower.”
The pandemic altered CMBS conduit pool compositions, with retail and hospitality loans taking a back seat. “I would certainly expect to see those come back in some form in the near- to medium-term as the market recovers,” Casey said.
Casey attended Syracuse University and got his start at Newmark. He credits the firm with giving him a holistic view of the industry. “There was a great rotational program there, and it worked out really well,” he said.
His recent deals at UBS include a $73 million acquisition financing for a 1.5 million-square-foot distribution center and a $145 million loan for a hospitality portfolio. As we round out the year, “we’re definitely busier than expected, which is a good thing for us,” Casey said. “We’re pushing to get things wrapped up for a really strong fourth quarter push.”—C.C.
