ING and JP Morgan top Dealogic’s European CRE syndication league tables

ING and JP Morgan have been ranked as the most active banks in the syndicated European real estate loan market during 2015 by financial information provider Dealogic.

The data, which is supported by the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) Europe, shows that loans with a volume of €74.7 billion were syndicated in 212 deals across the EMEA region during 2015, the highest volume since €76.7 billion in 2007 and up 58 percent from 2014.

Excluding loans written to REITs, which are typically not secured by property, real estate loans with a total volume of €32.9 billion across 147 deals were syndicated last year, up almost 50 percent from 2014. The number of non-REIT syndicated deals in 2014 was 86.

ING was the most active bank in the market for non-REIT loan syndication, while JP Morgan topped the tables when loans to REITs were taken into account. The US bank’s underwrite of a €6.25 billion bridging loan to Deutsche Annington in January 2015 pushed up its total volume. The full league tables can be viewed below.

HSBC and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) also featured in the top reaches of the tables, with HSBC ranked as the most active lender in the UK syndication market.

In the league tables which excluded loans to REITs, ING was the most active book-runner with €3.521 billion over 21 deals, followed by BNP Paribas with €1.976 billion across nine deals and LBBW with €1.935 billion across three deals.

ING also topped the table for mandated lead arrangers in non-REIT financings, with €3.239 billion across 28 deals, followed by HSBC with €2.527 billion across 23 deals and LBBW with €2.338 billion across six deals.

Including loans to REITs, JP Morgan emerged as both the most active book-runner and mandated lead arranger. In the book-runner stakes, JP Morgan was involved in the syndication of €10.232 billion across just three deals. In second place was Bank of America Merrill Lynch with €6.172 billion across 13 deals, followed by ING with €4.656 billion across 26 deals.

As mandated lead arranger including loans made to REITs, JP Morgan participated in €8.382 billion across 11 deals, followed by HSBC with €5.072 billion in 34 deals and ING with €4.971 billion in 45 deals.

The majority of the deals were done in the UK, with €20.9 billion across 59 deals, accounting for 28 percent of market share. Germany and France posted volumes of €19.9 billion and €12.9 billion respectively.

HSBC was the most active bank in the syndication of UK loans, with €3.132 billion in 20 deals as mandated lead arranger, followed by Lloyds with €1.904 billion in 12 deals and RBS with €1.522 billion in 14 deals.

In France, Credit Agricole CIB was the most active mandated lead arranger, with €2.798 billion in 26 loans, followed by Natixis with €2.477 billion in 24 deals and BNP Paribas with €1.502 billion in 18 loans.

Last year’s largest deal excluding REIT activity was a €1.4 billion loan to the French borrower, Carmila SAS. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, CM-CIC, HSBC, ING, Natixis, RBS and Societe Generale participated in the five -year deal which extended a 2013 loan. The deal comprised a €350 million revolving tranche and a term loan of €1.05 billion.

Also among the largest syndicated deals was the €856 million financing of Canary Wharf Group’s Wood Wharf in London last March by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Qatar National Bank.

The EMEA syndicated real estate finance league tables were launched last year by Dealogic in an effort to improve transparency across the CRE lending market. Dealogic gathered data from the real estate units of 20 banks.

“This is a valuable tool for all stakeholders: arrangers, participants and regulators alike. We think 2016 may generate the same levels of activity as more assets change hands. Refinancings will also trigger some more volumes,” said Jean-Maurice Elkouby, head of REF syndications at ING.

“These league tables are an indicator of the property sector’s commitment to transparency and collaborative working and underline how much progress has been made since the GFC in realigning our sector to minimize risk and maximize the sharing of data,” commented Steve Willingham, managing director and head of EMEA real estate finance at HSBC.

“Clearly, the greater liquidity there is in a loan, the tighter pricing that can be achieved, and the more market standard that terms develop, the more liquid it becomes. The transparency we are trying to promote here is crucial if we are to achieve the kind of sensible regulation we need to support the sector’s growth. Attracting a rich diversity of investors into real estate is positive not just for banks but for funds, developers and borrowers across the board,” added Willingham.

“For [LBBW] it is a great confirmation of the strong relationships we have with institutional CRE investors as well as of our ability to access liquidity in the secondary markets through our platform due to the quality of our loans and the reputation we have with our syndicate partners,” said Frank Jeschke, ‎head of portfolio management at LBBW.

“The importance of the syndication market for commercial real estate finance can be seen clearly from Dealogic’s tables,” said Peter Cosmetatos, chief executive of CREFC Europe. “Regulatory pressure on some banks to distribute, broad appetite for commercial real estate risk and returns, and the absence of an effective securitisation market are all contributing to these healthy figures.”

Syndicated Real Estate Finance** Loans Bookrunner* Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Bookrunner	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	JPMorgan	10,232	3	20.8
2	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	6,172	13	12.5
3	ING	4,656	26	9.5
4	HSBC	3,391	11	6.9
5	BNP Paribas	3,224	16	6.5
6	Natixis	3,085	22	6.3
7	Barclays	2,478	10	5.0
8	Credit Agricole CIB	2,373	16	4.8
9	LBBW	1,935	3	3.9
10	RBS	1,813	9	3.7
	Total Market	74,772	212	100

 

Syndicated Real Estate Finance** Loans MLA* Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Mandated Lead Arranger	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	JPMorgan	8,382	11	11.2
2	HSBC	5,072	34	6.8
3	ING	4,971	45	6.7
4	Credit Agricole CIB	4,175	45	5.6
5	SG Corporate & Investment Banking	4,166	25	5.6
6	BNP Paribas	4,063	44	5.4
7	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	3,732	16	5.0
8	Natixis	2,965	32	4.0
9	UniCredit	2,951	17	4.0
10	LBBW	2,338	6	3.1
	Total Market	74,772	212	100

 

Syndicated Real Estate Finance** Loans (Exc. REITS†) Bookrunner* Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Bookrunner	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	ING	3,521	21	19.5
2	BNP Paribas	1,976	9	11.0
3	LBBW	1,935	3	10.7
4	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	1,489	10	8.3
5	Natixis	1,385	14	7.7
6	HSBC	1,353	7	7.5
7	SG Corporate & Investment Banking	1,308	8	7.3
8	Mashreqbank PSC	908	3	5.0
9	Credit Agricole CIB	833	8	4.6
10	Barclays	552	3	3.1
	Total Market	32,887	147	100

 

Syndicated Real Estate Finance** Loans (Exc. REITS†) MLA* Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Mandated Lead Arranger	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	ING	3,239	28	9.9
2	HSBC	2,527	23	7.7
3	LBBW	2,338	6	7.1
4	BNP Paribas	2,288	24	7.0
5	Credit Agricole CIB	1,977	25	6.0
6	SG Corporate & Investment Banking	1,864	14	5.7
7	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	1,599	12	4.9
8	Natixis	1,435	18	4.4
9	Lloyds Banking Group	1,313	8	4.0
10	RBS	833	7	2.5
	Total Market	32,887	147	100

 

UK Syndicated Real Estate Finance Loans Mandated Lead Arranger Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Mandated Lead Arranger	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	HSBC	3,132	20	14.9
2	Lloyds Banking Group	1,904	12	9.1
3	RBS	1,522	14	7.3
4	Barclays	1,369	11	6.5
5	BNP Paribas	1,345	9	6.4
6	Wells Fargo	1,222	7	5.8
7	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	1,205	7	5.8
8	ING	1,202	6	5.7
9	Santander	1,178	11	5.6
10	Citi	749	3	3.6
	Total Market	20,964	59	100

 

France Syndicated Real Estate Finance Loans Mandated Lead Arranger Ranking- Full Year 2015
Rank	Mandated Lead Arranger	Value €m	Deals	% Share
1	Credit Agricole CIB	2,798	26	21.7
2	Natixis	2,477	24	19.2
3	BNP Paribas	1,502	18	11.6
4	SG Corporate & Investment Banking	1,231	14	9.5
5	ING	1,213	10	9.4
6	CM-CIC	993	12	7.7
7	HSBC	556	7	4.3
8	RBS	471	3	3.6
9	Bank of China	312	1	2.4
10	Barclays	296	2	2.3
	Total Market	12,920	50	100