Meridian Capital’s Yoni Goodman leaving amid lender scrutiny

Meridian Capital president Yoni Goodman is leaving the company as it copes with the fallout of a broker scandal.

Goodman, who spent a decade at Ralph Herzka’s mortgage-broker juggernaut, will leave the company later this week, he told The Real Deal.

“We achieved a lot of great things over those 10 years, but people don’t stay at companies forever,” Goodman said. “It’s been 10 years and I’m leaving for other opportunities.”

He declined to talk more about his next move.

“I wish Meridian, founder and senior chairman Ralph Herzka, CEO Brian Brooks, the partners, and especially the unbelievably talented brokers, analysts and employees much success going forward,” Goodman added. “I am confident that Meridian will remain a dominant force in the real estate services industry for decades to come.”

A former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, Goodman joined Meridian in 2014. The company, already dominant as a mortgage brokerage, expanded into other areas including retail leasing and investment sales.

In 2021 the company teamed up with Barings to launch a multifamily lending platform. Many had viewed Goodman as a potential successor to Herzka as CEO, though Goodman said there were never any talks about succession.

It’s a challenging time for Meridian. Higher interest rates have put a squeeze on the dealflow that powers the machine, and the company has been cut off from a key line of business.

A significant portion of Meridian’s deals came from brokering loans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the fall, Freddie placed Meridian on what has effectively been a blacklist after the agency uncovered alleged broker fraud.

Read more

Commercial

New York

Top broker leaves Meridian amid agency probes

Commercial

New York

Meridian’s Ralph Herzka gives rallying call, despite struggles

Commercial

New York

Meridian makes cuts to New Jersey office 

The damage from the scandal led to Meridian hiring Brian Brooks, a former head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as CEO in April. Goodman played a key role in recruiting him for the job.

Brooks said he was grateful to Goodman for the time he spent at the company and overseeing the transition, and said Meridian has completed several key steps required to get things back on track with the agencies.

“I think we’ve made a lot of really good progress that will become tangible soon,” he said.