Paul Vanderslice

Some say there’s no “I” in “team.” For Paul Vanderslice, that’s a key reason behind BMO Capital Markets’ success. 

“We have the culture we want through people that work well together,” Vanderslice said. “There’s no attitude, and we run the group very flat — everyone’s got a voice, and no one is hesitant to speak their mind. Not all banks are like that.”  

Those vocalizations culminated in an impressive $4.5 billion in transactions these past 12 months (compared with $3.5 billion for the same period a year ago) split between $2.3 billion in conduit and $2.2 billion in SASB commercial mortgage-backed securities deals. 

BMO was lead or co-lead on 25 conduit transactions and 10 SASB transactions this past year, with deals including a $96 million refinance for Vanderbilt Office Properties and Trinity Capital Advisors’ office property at 515 North Flagler Drive in Downtown West Palm Beach, Fla.

“We’re competitive on price and structure and transparent with sponsors,” Vanderslice said. “We pick our spots and follow through on what we say we’ll deliver.” 

The platform has a dedicated subordinated debt professional who focuses exclusively on mezzanine, preferred equity and B-note opportunities. Unlike some of its peers who consider only subordinate debt on sizable deals, BMO executes subordinate investments on both large and small transactions. 

Today, BMO’s loan portfolio is composed of 22 percent multifamily, 20 percent retail, 15 percent industrial, 12 percent office, 11 percent hospitality, 15 percent mixed-use and 5 percent self-storage

And the platform is already off to a busy start this year. “In the first quarter we’ve done close to $1 billion or so,” Vanderslice said.

“We’ve done a lot of conduit deals, a handful of SASB deals and a lot of transactions in the pipeline. In April, we’ve
got two BMO shelf deals and we’re involved in a bunch of large SASBs for sponsors like Brookfield, Blackstone, Vornado and household names in the market.”

The securitization platform turns just 4 years old this year, with BMO continuing to take market share by the “Slice.”