Chris Niederpruem

Despite tending to a diverse, national loan portfolio, First Citizens found success last year in a similar fashion to other names on this list: in the well-performing multifamily and industrial sectors, with a bit of retail, hotel and student housing sprinkled in for good measure.

“[Multifamily] is a big component of our portfolio, and that goes back to the entirety of our business. We’ve always had a heavy focus in that space,” Chris Niederpruem said. “And, then, certainly as we’ve moved away from office post-pandemic, we’ve continued to increase even further our focus on both multifamily and industrial.”

Earlier this year, First Citizens and JPMorgan Chase provided $75 million in construction financing toward a 20-story, mixed-use residential tower in Manhattan’s Murray Hill, a healthy chunk of which is designated for affordable housing. 

Then there’s the $44 million in construction financing it provided to Greek Real Estate Partners last fall to develop a 287,000-square-foot distribution facility in Philadelphia. Or the nearly $20 million loan last summer to Eagle Cliff Real Estate Partners to develop a 108,000-square-foot industrial property in Long Island, Queens. 

Yet, while multifamily and industrial transactions pay the bills at the moment, that’s not to say that the Raleigh, N.C.-headquartered firm, which had a solid lending volume of some $2.2 billion last year, hasn’t been creative with some of the projects it takes on. That creativity has manifested itself most prominently in the development of Lionsgate Warburton Studios, a vast entertainment production facility in Yonkers, N.Y., helmed by a joint venture between i.Park (an entity of real estate investors National Resources) and Great Point Media. 

The initial $40 million loan toward the project was provided in 2020 by CIT Group, later acquired by First Citizens, while Niederpruem was at the helm of CIT’s real estate finance division. Niederpruem said that CIT’s long-standing relationship with i.Park was the impetus for lending toward such a unique project and the reason behind First Citizens’ continued support for the development as it expands in scope. More stage space at the production campus is slated to open this year. 

“We support our existing clients whether it’s a down-the-fairway apartment building they’re buying, or it’s a studio we’ve never spent time on before,” Niederpruem said. “But unlike some of our peers and competitors, we’re willing and able to expand and grow our business, and build our book of clients as well.”