Paul Vanderslice

Even in the toughest of market years for commercial real estate, some firms continued to up their game. 

Case in point: BMO Capital Markets. 

With Paul Vanderslice, aka Slice, at the helm, the platform took a $3.5 billion, ahem, portion of lending volume between conduit ($2.21 billion) and SASB ($1.2 billion) issuance. It also ranked No. 5 in the CMBS league tables for top U.S. CMBS bookrunner, despite being in business for only two and a half years.Further, it did it with a team of 24. 

“We were doing more with less bodies,” Vanderslice said. “We run the team very lean, and you’d never know it from the volume we’re doing. One of the reasons is, we’ve hired really experienced and qualified people.” 

That BMO dream team now includes David Schell, previously head of capital markets at UBS; Mike Birajiclian, who joined from Credit Suisse, where he helped oversee the large loan and conduit business; Matt Jacobs, previously of Benefit Partners Realty Trust; and Leah Nivison, who left Goldman Sachs a year ago to focus on agency underwriting. A steady force in the team is Andrew Noonan, head of CRE securitization, who has been with the firm since 2011. 

“Everyone stays in their lane and knows what their lane is, and everyone knows what the strategy is, whether you’re an analyst or an M.D. It’s the reason we’ve been so successful — our strategic vision,” Vanderslice said. 

The platform has also been in the market continuously, another differentiating factor. “You can’t say, ‘We don’t like the market this week, so call us next week,’” Vanderslice said. “You have to be steady, and in the market at all times. A lot of our competitors pulled back in early 2023 when spreads widened and Silicon Valley Bank failed, but you have to continue to originate into markets like those.” 

Indeed, “When banks pulled back last year it created a window for CMBS, especially the five-year option ,” he said. 

It’s been quite the journey for BMO Capital Markets since Vanderslice (who had three-plus decades of experience) took the reins in September 2020, leaving his position as CEO of CCRE to organize the formation of the bank’s then-new CMBS platform. Today, BMO Capital Markets’ four-pronged strategy includes both conduit and SASB CMBS, agency underwriting and warehouse lending for both CMBS and CLO issuers. BMO was either lead or co-lead on 19 conduit transactions, and co-lead on seven SASB deals last year. 

The platform also gave the subordinate debt space plenty of love, executing subordinate positions on both large and small deals, and several high-profile transactions with either B note or mezz components. Currently, BMO’s book comprises roughly 25 percent multifamily and 25 percent retail loans, with industrial originations weighing it at the No. 3 spot at 20 percent. 

Certainty of execution was key for BMO’s borrowers. “We’re competitive on both price and structure, but we are transparent with sponsors, pick our spots, and follow through on what we say we’ll deliver,” Vanderslice said.