Nine months after agreeing to a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. regulators, Deutsche Bank is on top of the New York City real estate lending world.
The German institution topped CrediFi’s ranking of the most active lenders in the second quarter with $1.5 billion to $2 billion in loan originations ahead of Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley. It ranked fourth in the first quarter.
Two big-ticket loans helped Deutsche Bank over the top: the $2.3 billion refinancing of Boston Properties’ GM Building and the $1.75 billion mortgage to fund HNA Group’s acquisition of 245 Park Avenue.
Last year’s fine over the Deutsche’s role in the subprime mortgage crisis had some observers worry what would happen if it retreated from the market, but the bank dismissed the concerns.
“Commercial real estate has always been an important part of [Deutsche Bank’s] DNA going all the way back to its Bankers Trust days, and will continue to be so in the future,” Matt Borstein, the bank’s global head of CRE, told The Real Deal at the time.
While big banks expanded their market share, smaller multifamily lenders continued to fall in the rankings. Signature Bank, the top lender a year ago, came in seventh with $700 to $800 million in originations. New York Community Bank just about made it into the top 10, down from third a year ago.
CrediFi’s Alex Veksler blamed a decline in the number of smaller multifamily loans amid pressure from regulators.
Overall, New York lending volume in the second quarter was $24 billion, the same as a year ago and down from $27 billion in the second quarter of 2015. CrediFi’s data does not record all construction loans.