Stephanie Wiggins

Is it better to be a lender or borrower today?

I love what I do, and can’t imagine not being in a capital solutions role at a lender with PGIM’s reach, but well-capitalized borrowers with strong assets in good markets are sitting in a good spot right now even with the market volatility. Capital is available, and competition among lenders is intense. 

That gives high-quality borrowers meaningful negotiating leverage on price, structure and flexibility. The distinction is credit quality. There is plenty of capital for strong sponsors and good real estate, but significantly less for assets with weak cash flow or uncertain exits.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered as a lender in 2026?

The biggest challenge has been adapting to interest-rate volatility rather than simply adapting to higher rates. A borrower can adjust to a 5 percent 10-Year Treasury if they believe that is the new reality. It’s much harder when financing assumptions change materially during a transaction. 

We are hearing stories in the market currently of unsigned term sheets being resized with wider pricing and lower proceeds as a result of the wide swing in interest rates. This volatility is having a negative impact on valuations and transaction activity as borrowers scratch their heads and opt to hold. It also creates a constantly moving conversation among lenders, borrowers, buyers, and sellers about what an asset is worth and what proceeds it can support. 

The challenge is maintaining conviction and execution certainty when the cost of that capital is moving underneath you.

Which property sector is most attractive from a lending perspective today, and which are you most cautious about? 

As homeownership remains out of reach for many, the living sector remains one of my favorites, particularly in locations where declining new supply is creating a better fundamental setup. And multifamily has the benefit of having extraordinary depth of financing options. 

However, I’m cautious about making a blanket call on any major property type. Office is a perfect example. There are some challenged office assets, but there are real-time examples where we are finding office activity comparatively resilient amid widespread transaction re-trades. The dispersion within sectors has become enormous. Increasingly, I think asset quality, location and sponsorship matter more than the label on the property type.

What’s your competitive edge in deals today, and who are you competing against most often (banks or non-banks)? 

Our biggest advantage is breadth. We aren’t trying to force every borrower into the same pool of capital. PGIM can approach a borrower’s capital needs through agency, FHA, core, core-plus, and higher-yield capital, which allows us to provide solutions as their financing needs change.

That’s increasingly valuable in a market where execution certainty and structure can matter every bit as much as the last few basis points. The differentiator, therefore, can’t just be price. It has to be relationships, certainty of execution, structuring expertise and the ability to solve more than one kind of financing problem.

What is the most important thing you’ve done as a lender to protect your loan portfolio over the last year? 

Stay credit-first and start conversations early. This is not an environment where waiting for a maturity date to discover a refinancing problem is good portfolio management. The most important work has been continually stress-testing cash flow, valuations and refinance proceeds, identifying problems early and engaging sponsors before their option set narrows.

Sometimes protecting the portfolio means adding structure. Sometimes it means giving a strong sponsor additional time. And, occasionally, it means acknowledging that the right solution is a sale or recapitalization. The objective isn’t to avoid every problem. It’s to make sure we have the greatest number of options when one emerges.

Is AI indeed going to kill us all?

Nope. The exciting application of AI in lending is not replacing judgment. It’s removing friction around the judgment. Real-estate lending involves enormous quantities of leases, operating statements, borrower information, third-party reports and underwriting data. AI can help our people find inconsistencies and summarize information much faster, allowing them to spend more time asking whether the deal actually makes sense. 

Commercial real estate finance is ultimately a business of judgment and relationships. An algorithm doesn’t walk a property, understand why one submarket is materially better than another, or build trust with a borrower through multiple cycles. I see AI making good lenders more productive, not making lenders unnecessary.

Lightning Round:

“Traitors” or “Alone”? “Alone” — be prepared for the zombie apocalypse.

If you’d attended Taylor Swift’s wedding, what gift would you have given the happy couple? A book: I Hear You by Michael S. Sorensen. Communication is key!

Super Bowl or World Cup? Super Bowl — love the commercials and halftime show.

If you could train AI to do one new thing, what would it be? The laundry.

Best vacation you ever took? Paris 2001 — watching my toddler bite into his first croissant.

Book reader or phone scroller/email checker before bed? Email checker.

Fitness activity of choice? Running.

Holiday wish? Uninterrupted time with family.

“Power” song you listen to when mentally preparing for a big event/deal/day? “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.