Last week, the CREFC Annual Conference was back in its traditional New York venue, which benefitted not only the Manhattan hospitality market’s RevPAR but also provided for an exciting and lively location in Times Square. Dechert’s bash on Monday evening was extremely well attended and the guests were treated to passed hors d’oeuvres and the … Continue Reading
South Beach played host to the 2018 CREFC January Conference last week, as roughly 1,800 of our best friends in the CRE lending and securitization industry assembled in Miami to reflect on another year gone by and to muse about what’s in store (or out of store, in the case of retail) for 2018. In … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, our very own Kenneth D. Hackman, a regular contributor to Crunched Credit, moderated a panel entitled Single-Family Rental: The Landscape and Future of CRE’s Newest Asset Class, hosted by Dechert LLP, for CREFC’s After-Work Seminar Series. The esteemed panel consisted of Kevin S. Dwyer, Senior Vice President, RMBS, Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC; … Continue Reading
What in the world have we done to ourselves? Our CRE Securitization business, or at least the conduit part of our business, continues to shrink: $800 billion in outstanding principal balance in 2007 and now, $400 billion? Maybe, right now, we’re at a run rate of $50 billion per year. Is that enough? Does that … Continue Reading
CREFC held its Annual Conference last week in Washington D.C. Given the current politically charged climate, 2017 felt like a very appropriate time to move the Annual Conference from its traditional home in New York to Washington. Although attendance was down slightly from last year, over 1000 people attended the conference. Dechert hosted a reception … Continue Reading
CREFC has surveyed some of its attendees—all major participants in the commercial real estate finance industry—at the 2017 CRE Finance Council January Conference in Miami. CREFC’s 2017 market outlook survey confirmed what we observed at the conference this year, that for the most part survey respondents were cautiously optimistic in the face of the Trump Administration, … Continue Reading
Adding to the mountain of uncertainty for 2017 is how to interpret and implement (and…what is the fate of) the HVCRE (High Volatility Commercial Real Estate) regulations that came into effect January 1, 2015 (yup…that’s right…2 years and still no clarity) and which were implemented as part of the Basel III regulatory framework. So what … Continue Reading
The 2017 CREFC January Conference, which took place last week at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, provided an opportunity for those in the commercial real estate finance industry to reflect on an eventful 2016, and look ahead to 2017. Although attendance was down by almost 11% this year (we’ll blame Zika), around 1,600 people attended … Continue Reading
And now to return to our commentary a few weeks back about the stultifying impact of ill-thought through rules and regulations (at best) (Brexit has intervened). This is our Regulatory State which broadly attempted to pick winners and losers and modify market behavior, to get an engineered outcome by using the blunderbuss of proscriptive rules … Continue Reading
The slow start to 2016 did not dampen the enthusiasm at CREFC’s Annual Conference, held last week in New York City. The conference saw record attendance, with standing-room-only crowds at virtually every panel. As with the Industry Leaders Conference in January, the hot topics on people’s minds were risk retention (and the rest of the … Continue Reading
In a world where we buy groceries, book travel, and even date online, it should come as no surprise that online investment is becoming increasingly prevalent. The rapid shift towards an internet-centric world has made crowdfunding the next “big thing” when it comes to raising capital and finding investment opportunities. What is Crowdfunding? In the … Continue Reading
I have been mulling our 2014 Outlook for some time and decided to wait until after the New Year and CREFC to write. Just in case we got the whole Mayan calendar end of the world story wrong by a year (hey, it was 5000 years old) which would make the whole prediction thing a … Continue Reading
Next week, hundreds of industry participants will make their way to New York for CREFC’s Annual Conference. The conference promises to provide a forum to explore present and future market trends in commercial real estate, as well as an opportunity to gain valuable insight from many leaders in the market as to where we are … Continue Reading
As Philadelphians, it’s easy to think that 2012 has been a disappointment. Our beloved Eagles are 4-9, the Phillies had the most disappointing season in recent history and the Sixers traded last year’s best player for someone who has not yet set foot on the court this season (to avoid any rage from hockey fans, … Continue Reading
Following a great evening with our clients and friends at the top of the Hay Adams, Conference Co-Chair Rick Jones kicked off Conference Day 2 here at CREFC with a panel on the slow-motion car crash that is the European sovereign crisis. And while the Bank runs, a 100 billion in land loans, and GrexIt … Continue Reading
Over 800 industry participants have descended on Washington D.C. for the CREFC annual conference. With CREFC’s expanded focus on more than just securitization, we are now hearing from a more diverse set of voices at the conference. The conference kicked off this morning with the PSA Task Force’s discussion of the pooling and servicing agreement simplification … Continue Reading
Last Wednesday, Laura Swihart and I attended CREFC’s after-work seminar on the new model set of representations and warranties, which the group is set to release in coming weeks. The model set is the product of a patchwork committee of 50-odd individuals representing the full gamut of industry types – securitization issuers, bond investors, rating … Continue Reading
I’m sitting in the Grand Ballroom at the JW Marriot (filled to capacity) and listening to Tucker Carlson give his thoughts on likely GOP challengers to the President. I’ve seen him before – he did a great bit with Paul Begala a few years ago at the MBA in San Diego; very likable and very, … Continue Reading
The industry descended on our Nation’s Capital this morning for the 2011 CREFC conference: "Commercial Lending: The New World Order". It was -2 at Logan when my shuttle took to the air – needless to say I’m more than happy for the opportunity to spend a few days with friends, clients and colleagues in a … Continue Reading
CREFC and MBA. MBA and CREFC. Tied at the hip. Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby? (For those of an age or inclination to have watched White Christmas recently). After a period of open and somewhat notorious and perhaps a little embarrassing competition, these two trade organizations have to settle down and get along for the … Continue Reading
On October 20th at the Charlotte City Club, Dechert partner David Harris spoke on an ASF Sunset Seminar panel titled “FDIC’s Final Securitization Safe Harbor – Understanding the New Rules.” I won’t spend too much time on the background of the FDIC’s Old Safe Harbor Rule but will tell you that the Transitional Safe Harbor … Continue Reading
Covered bond legislation is once again a hot topic on Capitol Hill. Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ) co-sponsored the latest iteration of his proposed legislation (United States Covered Bond Act of 2010 or H.R. 5823 (pdf)) along with Representatives Kanjorski (D-NJ) and Bachus (R-AL). The House Financial Services Committee recently voted in favor of reporting H.R. 5823 … Continue Reading
It’s August 6 as I write this, and the finance industry is taking a deep breath after hustling for weeks to get their comments delivered to the SEC on the SEC’s massive restructuring (pdf) of Reg AB and offering reform. We here at Dechert had been very busy writing the CREFC comments (pdf) and I’m delighted to … Continue Reading
Issuers, investors, rating agencies and other industry participants continue to wrestle with the fundamental changes that will come to define CMBS 2.0. Among the (many) issues raised in the "Best Practices" guidelines issued by CREFC during June’s get-together was a proposal for market-wide, programmatic change to the package of representations and warranties given by securitization … Continue Reading
