Barclays Capital and FundCore Finance Group have established a CMBS loan origination and securitization program.
As part of this program, Barclays will give the funding to originate conduit loans while
FundCore will be sourcing loan opportunities. The loans will be jointly underwritten by Barclays and FundCore and will be periodically securitized.
According to a press release from both firms, the partnership will look to originate and securitize five-, seven- and ten-year fixed-rate loans backed by traditional commercial property types in major U.S. markets.
"We have been thoughtful about our expansion into CMBS origination and we believe that the current environment provides us with many opportunities," said Larry Kravetz, head of CMBS finance at Barclays. "Borrowers will benefit from the unique combination of FundCore's expertise in conduit origination with our market leading securitization business."
"The CMBS business model has dramatically changed and we continue to look at numerous ways to take advantage of this opportunity," said Steve Ball, president of FundCore. "Through this combination we are creating a best-in-class origination business that is well-integrated between the two firms and will provide a seamless and streamlined execution process for borrowers."
In January 2011, FundCore formed a new venture with Cohen & Co., now known as Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. (IFMI), to create a commercial real estate conduit lender. The conduit was supposed to start originations loans in 1Q11.
Since then, Cohen had agreed to pay $45 million for a controlling stake in two-year-old PrinceRidge Holdings, which is both a New York and London bond-trading outfit run by John Costas and Michael Hutchins, who now head up the combined firms.
