Over a thousand lenders, borrowers, servicers, lawyers and other service providers have descended on Miami for three days of networking, meeting and doing things you just can't do in DC. After a Sunday spent checking in, catching up and Tebowing, the conference kicked off in earnest this morning. I started my day with a PSA Task Force meeting - an important industry initiative. The committee is working hard to develop a standardized format for the more mechanical aspects of a pooling and servicing agreement, with an eye toward making loans work for borrowers and servicers alike (Rick offered some prescient comments regarding the importance of emphasizing the exercise as something that will, at the end of the day, make the servicing of securitized loans more efficient and user friendly). As I type, I'm listening to the opening general session, an overview of CRE fundamentals and where we are in the cycle (the common themes being the effect of the jobless recovery and the specter of $700 billion or so of debt maturing in the next 24 months). Tonight, Dechert will welcome over two hundred clients and colleagues for dinner at Asia de Cuba - we are looking forward to a great opportunity to talk to our friends. Tomorrow's schedule is similarly packed, highlighted by a keynote address by Douglas Holtz-Eakin. We will continue to blog from the conference.
By Matthew Clark.
