The 2022 edition of our annual list of leading lenders serves as a snapshot of an industry functioning during challenging times. Yesterday we profiled the banks from Aareal to Goldman Sachs making their mark over the last 12 months. Below are the banks from H to Z.

Helaba

Senior, development lender
Active across Europe

Lending in 2021: €4.8bn
Lending in 2022 to end H1: €3.1bn
Loan book at end H1 2022: €29bn

In May, the German bank refinanced the Quartier 205 mixed-use scheme in Berlin for Tishman Speyer in a €250 million, 10-year loan. The transaction featured a social impact feature whereby both lender and borrower provide matching annual contributions to a local charity. In July, it provided €300 million of a €700 million sustainability-linked refinancing of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s Westfield Centro mall in Germany. Helaba was active elsewhere. In August, it provided €41 million to Czech developer Crestyl for the modernisation of the historic NR7 office building in Prague. In Helsinki, it provided €40 million to Sweden’s Altaal for the acquisition of an office asset.

HSBC

Senior, whole loan, development, loan-on-loan lender
Active in UK, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Czech Republic

Loan book at 30 June 2022: €20.5bn
Lending volumes: undisclosed

In April, HSBC was sustainability co-ordinator in a £270 million green loan, provided as part of a club, for Legal & General Investment Management’s build-to-rent development in Wandsworth, London. In Q4, it was sole underwriter of a financing of the cash element of housebuilder Vistry Group’s £1.3 billion acquisition of Countryside Properties – a major UK corporate acquisition. It also played a role in 50 percent of a £385 million bridging facility for long-income specialist LXi’s takeover of Secure Income REIT. In July, it underwrote a five-year sustainability-linked bilateral facility for French investor and developer Covivio, which aligned its financing policy with its ESG goals.

ING

Senior, whole loan lender
Active in Benelux, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, CEE

Lending in 2021: €8bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: €6bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: €24bn

The Dutch lender has been active across Europe in 2022. In Spain, it provided a loan in June of €291 million to Ares Management and GIC to refinance their IANTE Investments platform, backed by 21 core residential rental assets in Madrid. The facility was syndicated to banks and alternative lenders. In the Netherlands, in August, it underwrote a €204 million loan to refinance a portfolio of life sciences assets for Dutch company Kadans Science Partner. The loan was one of the largest life sciences financing transactions recorded in Europe to date. In France, in April, it provided €50 million to manager Clarion Partners Europe to refinance a standing warehouse and a logistics development.

LBBW

Senior, whole loan, development lender
Active in Germany, UK, France, Benelux

Lending in 2021: €8.2bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: €4.3bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: €19.9bn

In February, LBBW partnered with fellow German lender pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank to provide a €300 million refinancing of manager Pembroke’s Maximilianhöfe prime mixed-used asset in Munich. During the third quarter, it financed an office building project in its home country, which it said demonstrated its commitment to development financing despite rising construction costs. The bank also acted as arranger of a term loan for the acquisition of a Paris office building, which was eligible for its green bond funding programme. In July, it provided a term loan for a German housing co-operative, which is developing a housing project including social facilities such as a day-care centre and a dementia facility.

Morgan Stanley

Senior, mezzanine, whole loan, loan-on-loan lender
Active in UK, Ireland, France, Iberia, Benelux, Italy, Nordics, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic

Lending in 2021: €5bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: €3bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: €7.5bn

In August, the US lender provided a major refinancing of key elements of one of London’s major mixed-use regenerations. Morgan Stanley underwrote a £1.1 billion refinancing of several assets at the Kings Cross Central estate for Kings Cross Central Limited Partnership in a deal that consolidated existing debt facilities. In the real estate M&A market, it was lead arranger on a financing to support the take-private of German REIT Alstria by Brookfield, which completed in January. In December, the bank provided a €650 million refinancing to Blackstone for a portfolio of office and retail in Helsinki, which forms part of the US mega-manager’s Sponda platform.

Natixis

Senior, mezzanine, whole loan, development lender
Active across Europe

Lending in 2021: €4.7bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: €4.5bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: €9.4bn

The French bank provided green and sustainability-linked debt across several sectors. In July, it provided a 3.5-year, €150 million green loan for the redevelopment of an office building in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. The sponsor aims to bring the asset to grade A standard and achieve environmental certifications. In June, it provided a €135 million green loan for four grocery-anchored shopping centres in France, for which the public company owner plans a €33 million capex programme. Natixis also provided a €150 million sustainability-linked credit facility to Belgian logistics manager Warehouses De Pauw in March, to support its drive to achieve net zero across its value chain by 2050.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank

Senior, development lender
Active in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Nordics, CEE

Lending in 2021: €9bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q2: €4.3bn
Loan book at end Q2 2022: €30.2bn

The German bank’s loans in 2022 have included, alongside fellow German lenders BayernLB and Stadtsparkasse München, a €254 million construction loan for German developer ATMIRA Group for a four-storey logistics asset in the German city of Erfurt. Among its sustainable credentials, the scheme will have a green roof for the retention of water. In another development financing deal, in October, it provided developer Bauwerk with €106 million for the ‘Vinzent’ residential and office project in Munich, which will be the first inner-city timber-based scheme in the city. In October, the bank provided €25 million to Hines European Core Fund to finance the acquisition of a logistics asset in Barcelona.

Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets

Senior, mezzanine, whole loan, development, loan-on-loan lender
Active in UK, Germany, France, Benelux, Nordics, Spain, Ireland

Lending in 2021: undisclosed
Current pipeline suggests €2.2bn-plus lending in 2022
Loan book: undisclosed

The Canadian bank’s Real Estate Capital Partners business did not give closed volumes but confirmed its current pipeline suggests more than €2.2 billion of European lending in 2022. In July, it co-arranged, with UK bank NatWest, a €137.5 million development loan for sponsors Long Harbour, Cadillac Fairview and PSP Investments for The Mall, Walthamstow, in London, which will create 495 homes, including 99 affordable rental units, using modular construction. In August, it arranged a £63 million financing for Realstar and QuadReal for a build-to-rent development in Leeds, UK. In December 2021, it provided €300 million of a €1.9 billion acquisition for Brookfield’s take-private of office owner alstria.

Societe Generale

Senior, whole loan, development, loan-on-loan lender
Active in France, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic

Lending volumes and loan book: undisclosed

The French bank was ranked third in data provider Dealogic’s EMEA syndicated real estate finance loans ranking by volume by bookrunner in H1 2022, with a total of €1.07 billion. In January, it was sole underwriter of a €185 million, non-recourse green financing of a portfolio of 50 Mobicap residences in France, designed for people with reduced mobility. In January, it also arranged the €265.9 million financing of 118 residential properties across Germany for US firm Ares Management and German investor Forte Capital. In August, it was arranger and co-underwriter of a €500 million refinancing of nine German offices for Brookfield’s alstria.

Standard Chartered

Senior, mezzanine, whole loan, development, loan-on-loan lender
Active in western Europe

Lending in 2021 to end Q3: €600m*
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: c€2.5bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: undisclosed

In May, the UK-based bank financed the €600 million-plus purchase of the North Galaxy tower in Brussels for Korea’s KB Securities and KB Asset Management from ATP Real Estate. It was sole underwriter of the €370 million facility, which was syndicated to banks and institutional investors. In April, it was joint sustainability co-ordinator on a £270 million green development loan for LGIM Real Assets’ build-to-rent platform, in which UK peers HSBC and NatWest were also lenders. In June, it was mandated lead arranger and green loan co-ordinator on a £400 million facility for Qatari Diar Real Estate Company’s residential-led redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks.

*2021 Top 50 Lenders list; full-year volume undisclosed

Wells Fargo

Senior, development lender
Active in UK, Ireland

Lending in 2021: €1.9bn
Lending in 2022 to end Q3: €1.3bn
Loan book at end Q3 2022: €9.3bn

In July, the US bank partnered with Bank of America in a €328.6 million loan to Blackstone for the acquisition of the Spencer Place office campus in Dublin’s docklands. Wells also fully underwrote a sustainability-linked loan of £350 million to UK manager abrdn’s Airport Industrial Property Unit, to refinance a facility on which it was the incumbent lender. It was also one of nine underwriters, at $1.4 billion, including a $150 million European term loan, as part of the financing of US private equity firm KKR and manager Global Infrastructure Partners’ acquisition of data centre developer CyrusOne for $15 billion, the largest M&A deal in the data centre sector to date at the time it closed in March.