Chris Niederpruem
Head of commercial real estate finance at First Citizens Bank
Last year's rank: 41
First Citizens Bank’s successful 2024 saw the firm achieve $2.2 billion in originations, largely through a focus on multifamily as well as industrial and logistics properties.
“Our thesis has really been around the continued demand for housing and storage, including industrial,” said Chris Niederpruem. “The market dynamics around office, retail and hotel shifted dramatically during the pandemic, and some of those continued to evolve more positively since. But demand for housing and industrial remains steady at worst, and in many cases improved through time. So we’ve been focused on those sectors for that reason.”
Offering a range of financing options, including acquisition financing, refinancing, construction lending and bridge loans, First Citizens had notable transactions that included a $74 million, senior secured loan to Lonicera Partners for a 23-story, luxury apartment building at 310 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn; and $52 million in financing for a joint venture between Wheelock Street Capital and Foundry Commercial for the construction of Egret Point Logistics Centre in Boynton Beach, Fla., which will consist of two Class A industrial buildings totaling 457,110 square feet.
First Citizens also continued the integration of Silicon Valley Bank’s commercial real estate portfolio after its purchase of the bank in 2022.
“The Silicon Valley Bank commercial real estate business aligned well with our existing commercial real estate business here at First Citizens,” said Niederpruem. “We added some additional capacity in terms of people and market coverage.”
First Citizens brings some momentum to the rest of 2025. But, given recent market dynamics, Niederpruem is approaching the future with an appropriate dose of cautious reality. “The external environment is different than folks thought it would be six months ago,” said Niederpruem. “In terms of real estate market activity, it will likely be slower than most expected. There are a lot of unknown dynamics at play, so it should be an interesting ride this year.”
