Ed Ely, Cecile Chalifour and Brett Katz

In a year of impressive headlines, J.P. Morgan perhaps elicited the biggest “Wow!” with its $750 billion commitment to boosting affordable housing supply in the U.S. More generally speaking, the ability to finance housing — and other assets— creatively, thoughtfully, and at scale — is one of the bank’s key calling cards.

Much of that expertise comes out of its Southern California offices. with Ed Ely, Cécile Chalifour and Brett Katz at the helm of lending activities, from commercial term lending (CTL) to community development banking to commercial mortgage-backed securities. 

Since arriving at J.P. Morgan’s Irvine, Calif., office nearly two decades ago, Ely has been an integral part of cementing the bank as the nation’s No. 1 multifamily lender.

“Whatever environment we’re in, we’re always in the market,” Ely said. “We are proactive to remain there as a reliable capital source.”

J.P. Morgan’s roughly $100 billion CTL multifamily lending business is heavily concentrated in Southern California, accounting for about $45 billion of loans.

While confronting an elevated interest rate environment, Ely has indeed been proactive over the past year in shifting J.P. Morgan’s CTL portfolio pipeline to around 15 percent in adjustable-rate mortgages, up from just single digits in prior years.  

Ely’s team originates about 5,000 to 6,000 CTL loans a year. He said as interest rates and cap rates trend upward, the purchase market for CTL loans has picked up as owners evaluate valuation adjustments for multifamily properties.

“We’re seeing more purchase deals than we historically see,” Ely said. “That activity has picked up quite a bit, so that’s something that we’re really excited about.”

The J.P. Morgan real estate structured finance group has seen recent West Coast expansion efforts led by Katz with the L.A. office adding CMBS veteran Ed Meneses in late 2025. Katz’s team has also been targeting middle market lending opportunities on the West Coast in the $75 million to $200 million range through its versatile platform.  

Recent headline-grabbing deals include the refinance of L.A.’s Sofitel Hotel and the Pendry Hotel Newport Beach, plus a SASB CMBS deal for Roblox’s headquarters in San Mateo.