Alejandrina Catalano

George Soros has entered the bidding for Catalunya Bank’s €6.5bn Hercules portfolio of loans, according to Spanish newspaper Expansion.   He has teamed up with alternative investment manager Varde Partners. The bulk of the 111,000 loans are on residential property, mostly  in Catalonia; 43% are non-performing and 15% are sub-performing: in default for less than […]

Agency’s report allows investors to compare top CMBS issuers, writes Alex Catalano CMBS issuance is booming in the US. Some $80bn of commercial mortgages, including loans for multi-family properties, were packaged up as CMBS last year – an 118% increase on 2012 – and this year looks to be similar.  “A big part of the growth […]

Underwriting terms are laxer, but have yet to hit the lows of 2007, writes Alex Catalano The US CMBS market is gathering speed. From near-death in 2009, new issuance has picked up and is on track to hit $100bn this year. But what is also evident is a slide in underwriting standards. “We hear from originators […]

Wider range of lenders have growing real estate debt appetite, reports Alex Catalano

Bigger slice of total debt now targets acquisitions and small deals, writes Alex Catalano The UK investment market is picking up speed, with more borrowers seeking acquisition-related financing, especially for smaller-sized loans and retail, according to Laxfield Capital’s debt barometer. Refinancing makes up a decreasing share of the £12.9bn of loan requests for senior and […]

British Land, Segro and Capco tap debt repricing with new unsecured facilities, writes Alex Catalano

Reform of annuities will drastically cut one source of funding for property, writes Alex Catalano

Asset and loan sales likely ahead of stress test for European lenders’ books, reports Alex Catalano