Largest Independent Commercial Mortgage Banking Firm in the United States Nears 100 Percent Performance for its Nearly $17 Billion Portfolio of Internally Serviced Loans
San Francisco, Calif. – Gantry, the largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., today announced it has completed $3.0 billion of commercial mortgages during 2020 across a company record 411 transactions. This marks the firm’s first time in its nearly 30-year history that the company has surpassed 400 new production transactions in a calendar year. Additionally, the fourth quarter of 2020 saw $1.0 billion of new loans over 124 transactions, representing the strongest production quarter in company history.
Gantry, a long-rated Primary Servicer by Standard & Poor’s, further reported that its nearly $17.0 billion portfolio of internally serviced commercial mortgage loans is performing at 99.8% of expectations. The company’s business model relies upon its expertise in structuring and underwriting to both borrower and lender priorities to achieve this performance benchmark.
“In a year of unprecedented disruption, Gantry exceeded our expectations for 2020 on both the production and servicing sides of our business,” said Michael Heagerty, Principal and CFO with Gantry. “Rather than a contraction, our professionals exceeded $3 billion in loan placements across all commercial asset classes, with clients benefiting from available capital sources in a variety of compelling structures at historically low rates. Further, Gantry’s servicing portfolio performed well above expectation given the intense challenges post-COVID, with very few delinquencies due to responsive action on relief requests, diligent oversight, and copious underwriting.”
In terms of capital allocations by asset class, the top funded property types in 2020, ranked in descending order, included: multifamily, industrial, self-storage, office and retail assets; with the company’s Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco production offices finishing the year with Gantry’s highest placement volumes.
Notable trends in relevant Gantry verticals include:
Production
Gantry’s production total of $3.0 billion for 2020 represents 411 unique transactions across all property types. The significant majority of these transactions (57%) were placed with life company/pension lenders. While Gantry completed a significant number of transactions for assets valued in excess of $10 million, the average transaction size of $7 million showcased a strong marketplace for investment and refinance transactions covering smaller assets serving private ownership interests, suburban markets, and small business occupants.
“Lender appetite for multifamily and industrial loan allocations was strong in 2020, and we expect both asset classes to be the most active once again in 2021,” said Andy Bratt, Principal with Gantry’s Newport Beach production office. “While 2020 conditions were a struggle to pin down early in the year, lender confidence coupled with strong Fed policy, made 2020 a great year to refinance, acquire, and fund accordingly. As the vaccine rollout continues into 2021 and we see how that impacts asset classes like office, retail and hospitality, expect to see lender interests in these challenged property types increase, although most likely not before Q4 2021.”
Servicing
The strong performance of Gantry’s nearly $17.0 billion portfolio of serviced loans showcased the strength of the firm’s production underwriting, a company hallmark. Led by a team of senior professionals, versed in navigating distressed markets, the company was well prepared to aggressively act to mitigate problem loans early in the process.
“Our team of production and servicing specialists immediately drew upon our nearly three decades of experiences navigating 2008 and other prior recessionary cycles to proactively engage our borrower clients on behalf of our correspondent lenders,” said Gantry’s Heagerty. “These proactive efforts ensured that out of more than 2,000 unique loans serviced, only three were delinquent by end of year, and approximately 300 relief plans were constructed to the satisfaction of both our borrower and lender clients, avoiding any additional delinquencies.”
Culture & Operations
As the largest independent commercial real estate banking firm in the United States and a leading member of the Strategic Alliance MortgageÔ (SAM) network, Gantry prides itself on the individual drive and expertise of its production talent and professional team. The addition of a 10-member production team along with a 4-member servicing team, based in the Pacific Northwest, led to the opening of a Portland, OR office and an expansion of the firm’s Seattle team.
“The onboarding of a full production team and support staff from Norris, Beggs and Simpson in February of 2020 was considered for a long time prior to the close,” said Michael Taylor Principal with Gantry’s Seattle production office. “Our decision to add this team of talented producers with an independent mindset well-suited to Gantry’s workstyle expanded our Pacific Northwest footprint at an interesting time. Their immediate contributions to our 2020 production and servicing fit perfectly into Gantry’s correspondent lender lineup. While expansion into new markets proved particularly challenging in 2020, Gantry’s expansion into the Portland, Oregon market led to many additional successes for our lenders and clients active throughout the Pacific and Inland Northwest regions.”
About Gantry
Gantry, a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, is a full-service mortgage banking firm with an extensive lineup of correspondent lenders utilizing Gantry’s production, closing and servicing capabilities. Established in 1991, Gantry is currently staffed by nearly 90 professionals in regional offices throughout the western United States and in New York. The company’s national servicing platform valued at nearly $17 billion represents more than 2,000 loans located in 43 states. Gantry is rated as a Primary Servicer by Standard & Poor’s and is one of a select few non-banking/non-insurance chartered companies with this designation. For more information, please visit gantryinc.com.