David Bouton and Joseph Dyckman

When it comes to David Bouton and Joseph Dyckman, who oversee Citigroup’s commercial real estate lending platform, they aren’t looking to talk a big game. Instead, the numbers speak for themselves. 

Over the last 12 months, Citi originated $30 billion in balance sheet, CMBS, collateralized loan obligations and syndications, and another $28 billion in real estate corporate financing. 

Citi’s $16.2 billion in CMBS originations was not only good for second most in the nation, behind Wells Fargo’s $19.9 billion, but its total conduit issuance captured a 71 percent total market share, while the firm co-led 36 percent of all single-asset, single-borrower CMBS transactions. 

“The conduit business just had a stellar year last year,” said Bouton. “It was probably the strongest that firm has had since the financial crisis, albeit a lot had to do with the strength of our balance sheet at a time when balance sheet lending was so important.”

Citi’s 2024 balance sheet featured $1.8 billion of agency loans, $3.9 billion of warehouse lines (mainly to debt funds), and $6.9 billion of commercial real estate mortgages. 

“Throughout the year, it’s a very balanced platform, and very client-oriented,” added Bouton. “In a year when perhaps one segment of the market pulls back, we have others that can be very strong, and over the last 12 months we have contributions from all segments of our platform.” 

The firm in 2024 and 2025 served as the lead bookrunner on Switch Data Center’s $2.4 billion CMBS portfolio for three state-of-the-art data centers in Reno and Las Vegas; acted as the sole bookrunner on a $1 billion CMBS financing collateralized by a 1,047-key luxury resort in Boca Raton, Fla.; and acted as the co-lead on Blackstone’s $2.87 billion take-private acquisition of Retail Opportunity Investments Corporation, a grocery-anchored retail real estate investment trust with a $4 billion valuation. 

Dyckman attributed their success to his senior staff’s 15 years of shared experience and a client-centered ethos, which has helped Citi win out on deals against voracious competition.  

“We’ve seen a lot of different credit cycles. As we get into more uncertain times, clients just continue to feel comfortable with Citigroup as their counterparty,” he said. “We’re known for being client-friendly, easy to work with, we’re fair and transparent, and that’s translated to a lot of wins.”