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Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:46:53 GMT

JENNIFER CALURI
director of marketing
(212) 294-1312
Jennifer.Caluri@Situs.com

Test

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:49:33 GMT

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The Situs Report May

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:46:17 GMT

Pessimist, Optimist or Realist?

Pessimism and optimism are slammed up against each other in my records; the tension between them is where it's all at, it's what lights the fire."

- Bruce Springsteen

The optimist's view: The Presidential election is behind us; bank failures appear to be subsiding; many expect bank M&A to be on the rise and asset quality appears to be improving. Furthermore, "fill in the blank news source" tells us that the economy is on a sustained upturn.

The pessimist's view: The Presidential election is behind us; the banks that could find capital or a merger partner have done so, and we are now left with 651 "problem" institutions that have been unable to right their ship since 2007. So while the strong banks may be getting stronger, the weak banks are getting weaker. Furthermore, "fill in the blank news source" tells us that the economy is on the brink of another recession.

The realist's view: Banks, and particularly smaller banks, should endure relatively higher costs to comply with regulatory requirements (Stress Tests, Dodd Frank, Sarbanes Oxley, Basel 3, consumer protection) with many still struggling to survive in the new normal. These weaker banks endure balance sheet stress with their only survival options being to raise capital or to merge. The stronger banks should continue to enjoy a generational opportunity to acquire weaker, regional peers at compelling valuations. Yet, they too, remain burdened with balance sheet stress and, for many, the overhang of the expiration of covered assets. Logic should suggest that the strong should continue to strengthen and the weak should continue to weaken. Most would agree, however, that, should the economy take a turn for the worst and credit quality markedly deteriorate, the sector is not adequately prepared to endure another meltdown.

However, banks with strong credit administration and a command for the underlying risks in its credit portfolios should be best able to deal with unexpected adversity. From Situs' perspective, we remain active, serving the sector by providing independent and objective valuations (in The Situs Report) in support of investment banking activities as well as for portfolio acquisitions and sales. We also remain active providing valuations for covered assets approaching expiration, advising on loan/asset disposition strategies, regulatory stress tests and, obviously, third party and special servicing.

Written by Kenneth Segal, kenneth.segal@situs.com

Stressed Out

"Stress" is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "constraining force or influence"; "a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part";

"Granular" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "finely detailed";

"Stress Test" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an electrocardiographic test of heart function before, during, and after a controlled period of increasingly strenuous exercise (as on a treadmill)".

It has been a few years now that the Federal Reserve's annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) have been instituted. This is an intensive assessment of the capital adequacy of large, complex US Bank holding companies. This complex process involves a detailed granular look at the bank's assets, applying a forward looking evaluation of the bank holding company's capital adequacy. It looks at the policies governing capital actions, such as the issuance of common stock, payment of dividends and all planned capital actions that the bank intends to undertake over a nine quarter period. The Fed provides detailed assumptions under a baseline scenario, adverse scenario and a severely adverse scenario that must be applied. The bottom line question: can the" too big to fail" banks survive a severe adverse economic environment. The adverse and severely adverse scenarios are not Fed forecasts. They represent hypothetical economic scenarios designed to test whether banks can sustain an adverse economic environment. The baseline scenario represents the perspective of surveys from several economic forecasts. This is not a Fed forecast.

The graph below demonstrates the variations for the Fed assumptions for two of the macroeconomic factors, unemployment and the national CRE index. While we are only presenting these two macroeconomic factors, there are several others which the Fed is providing to banks for their use including, but not limited to, housing price index, GDP, inflation and interest rates.

It has been a few weeks since the Fed released the latest results of its annual stress test exercise for the top 18 CCAR banks. Most of them passed the minimum 5% Tier 1 Common Ratio test, even under a "severe adverse" economic scenario as defined by the Fed. Despite that outcome, some of those "pass banks" were criticized for their ability to estimate how certain risks might affect the bank. They have to redo their plans. The CCAR process is a serious undertaking, and the large banks are required to do this work annually, using significant internal resources to comply.

The $50B plus banks aren't the only ones who are stressed out though. Banks between $10B and $50B are also required to undertake this process, although their results won't be made public... yet. Those banks will be required to finish their first stress test using September 2013 data, with public results to follow sometime during 2014. We expect that banks under $10 B who are acquisitive will likely have to demonstrate their capital adequacy, using these same stress test scenarios.

What does this mean for banks and their real estate loan portfolios? Clean, organized and complete data, current opinions of collateral valuations and models which capture a granular loan level view of the assets with be needed. The process will involve statistical macroeconomic modeling, real estate valuation and portfolio analytics. As the regulatory environment evolves, Situs continues to stay close to the banks and the regulations providing valuation and advisory services to its clients.

Written by Tino Korologos, tino.korologos@situs.com

Situs Expands GSE and Multifamily Advisory Group to Meet Market Demand -- New Director Brings More Than 20 Years of Experience

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:56:05 GMT

Houston -- May 13, 2013 -- Situs, a leading provider of global commercial real estate advisory firm, today announced the growth of its Multifamily Advisory Group with the appointment of John Zielke as the Head of Underwriting. Situs' Multifamily Advisory Group continues to expand its client base and transaction volumes.

"Multifamily rental housing represents a significant part of the US housing market and we are seeing an increased demand for related services both on the debt and equity side," said Zenobia Tambuvala, Executive Managing Director at Situs. "As the GSE's play a substantial role in bringing liquidity to the market, our Multifamily Group will continue to be integral in providing advisory services. We are thrilled to welcome John Zielke to help us meet the growing needs of this sector."

In his new role as Head of Underwriting, Zielke will be focused on expanding our Advisory Services as well as client base of debt and equity participants. Zielke has more than 20 years of multifamily specific experience. Over the past six years he has served as Chief Underwriter for Column Financial, a Credit Suisse Company and Deputy Chief Underwriter at Walker & Dunlop. Prior to that, he held roles at Capmark Finance and Collateral Mortgage Capital, LLC. Zielke has an MBA and BS from The University of Alabama at Birmingham and is a CCIM Designee.

Situs' Multifamily Advisory Group has deep experience with conventional, affordable, seniors, dedicated student housing and manufactured housing products, including development, management, leasing , accounting. valuation and principal ownership.

Situs has experience with current GSE programmatic guidelines that span the spectrum from market rate, to affordable, student and senior housing. The firm's multifamily advisory services are engaged as a one-off transaction and/or as part of a suite of professional services to meet the client's business objectives. Certain surveillance and accounting services are also provided as an on-going service for clients looking to outsource back office risk mitigation.

Advisory Announcement April

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:38:32 GMT

The Situs Bank & Loan Advisory Group recently completed a Loan Review, Valuation and Acquisition Diligence in support of a $260,000,000 portofolio of performing and non-performing loans secured by multifamily real estate collateral. Situs worked with the purchaser to evaluate its acquisition.

Advisory Announcement February

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 04:33:44 GMT

Situs Bank and Loan Advisory Group recently completed a Loan Review and Credit Marks in support of Regional Bank M & A.

Portfolio of $300,000,000 Performing and Nonperforming Loans, secured by Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Collateral.

The Situs Report December

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 03:42:36 GMT

Real Estate Funds and Compliance

Many of the nearly 350 private equity funds, who lined up close to $250B of capital in 2011 to primarily invest in real estate equity and debt, were required to register as investment advisors pursuant to Dodd-Frank. With many of the investments comprised of illiquid assets, fair value is based on a great deal of judgment. Investment performance and financial statement performance are driven by the fair value estimates.

The SEC significantly increased the number of actions against investment advisors and investment companies during 2012, focusing on issues like independence, disclosures, fraudulent trading and misleading performance claims. They are expected to focus more on compliance policies and procedures, and place greater emphasis on the valuation of the funds' assets. It is expected that investment advisors have a robust written valuation policy that outlines their methodologies as well as their controls. Funds at a minimum should have written policy's around their procedures, and strongly consider the use of independent valuation professionals. This seems to be an SEC hot button, so funds need to give this some attention.

As the regulatory environment and investor expectations continue to evolve, Situs will continue to monitor market trends, and be available to support our client needs be it compliance or valuation.

Written by Constantine Korologos, Tino.Korologos@Situs.com

European CMBS Update

In Europe, unlike the US, banks have historically accounted for virtually all real estate lending. Total legacy loan exposure is currently approximately €2.4 trillion accounting for approx 10% of total balance sheet exposure. Of that, legacy CMBS currently accounts for €75 billion or just 3% of total debt. Total CMBS loans in special servicing has risen steadily from 2 loans in 2008 to 139 (€16.45 billion) as of August 2012 representing 22% of total European issuance by number of loans and 19% by volume.

In terms of new lending, bank lending for senior debt is limited to a small number of banks (approximately 10 in the UK) focusing on prime, secure markets or higher return short term finance. The CMBS market remains largely dormant with only four new issuances, three of which were single loan transactions originated by Deutsche Bank in 2011 and 2012 and one was Project Isobelle, the loan portfolio originally sold in 2011 by RBS to Blackstone. Bank funding for secondary locations is almost nonexistent. A number of life insurance companies are seeking to fill the gap and have taken tentative steps into the market. Insurance companies such as ING, AXA and Legal and General have stepped up in 2012 filling some of the gap caused by the lack of CMBS and others pulling out of the market. Non-institutional lenders are also emerging as traditionally mezzanine finance providers are now moving into senior debt. Examples include Starwood, Blackrock and M&G Investments Ltd. However, across the sector, real estate lending is still very limited; even the best stock only attracts LTVs of up to 60% and margins of up to 5% or more are not uncommon.

Banks continue to look at ways to clear legacy debt. However, to date, the slower route of in house management and work out appears to be favored over the quicker but ultimately less rewarding route of large scale loan trades. The latter is of course politically difficult in light of continuing tax payer support. In the UK and Ireland, some loan portfolios are being traded by the Irish Banks and a limited number of UK banks. However, these portfolios are made up mainly of higher risk, complex positions and are only attracting the interest of a small number of niche players. As values continue to deteriorate in Europe, CMBS default continues to rise with more loans being transferred to special servicing or being subject to extended stand still agreements every quarter.

Written by Hugo Raworth, Hugo.Raworth@Situs.com

Market Snapshots - Europe

UK Real Estate The UK property market remains polarized with an active liquid market in London and the South East and a largely dormant market in the rest of the UK. The last 12 months have seen total sales across the country drop by 50% compared with last year; an unprecedented drop in activity.

However, the news is not all bad. Well let properties, particularly shopping centers and food retail and good retail High Street shops, are trading at attractive (unleveraged) yields of between 5.00% and 6.50%. The consensus values have now largely readjusted which will provide a stable base for 2013 and hopefully a pickup in trades. London continues to perform strongly with prime London West End office yielding at 4.00% with the Prime City office yield unchanged at 5.00%. The Prime London West End retail yield remained at 3.00% with the Prime City retail yield also unchanged at 5.25%.

Written by Hugo Raworth, Hugo.Raworth@Situs.com

Germany The market continues to improve for multi-family-houses and retail properties. Demand is predominantly from local private and institutional investors allocating more capital into real estate. A limited number of multifamily transactions have occurred this year exceeding 1bn Euros. Additional bank leverage has made these possible as a consequence of higher liquidity in German institutions as they are no longer able to lend outside the domestic markets. Prime commercial real estate markets around major cities are improving with some capital appreciation over the last 12 months. Secondary markets remain weak but with domestic demand increasing, it is likely that values in these markets will stabilize over 2013.

Written by Volker Oehls, Volker.Oehls@Situs.com

Ireland Following a period of extremely light trading, activity has returned to Ireland's real estate capital markets sector in the latter part of 2012.Historically, Irish real estate was dominated by local players, but overseas buyers have become big beneficiaries of the recent NPL trades in Ireland. Market evidence has shown that foreign buyers now account for 75% of the real estate investment market. High profile investors active in the Irish market at present include; Blackstone, KKR, Delancy, Hines, Kennedy Wilson, and a number of other European and US funds.The recent sale of State Street's Irish HQ in Dublin is an example of the type of value to be had in the market at present. The building was fully let to State Street at a current rent of €7.82mn per annum, on a 25- year lease from August 2009 (break option in 2019). The sale also included an adjoining 3 acre development site in Dublin's CBD. Analysis of the sale indicates a net initial (unleveraged) yield of approximately 7.75% for the investment when the value of the site is stripped out.

Written by Brian Donohoe, Brian.Donohoe@Situs.com

The Nordics The Nordic Market is characterized by a lack of coherence both in terms of property and financing market. On the one hand, prime office in Central Stockholm has been traded at yields below 4.25% while other assets are more or less completely illiquid at any price. Whilst offices are the best performing sector in Stockholm, in Copenhagen its residential. One Danish mortgage institution, Realkredit Danmark just completed the financing of the largest office property in the Nordics, namely the 135.000 sqm property Garnisonen in Stockholm owned by institutional investor Vasakronan. Realkredit Danmark note that they expect to double their exposure in Sweden within the coming years.Nordea, historically the most active lender in Finland, is further reducing their appetite for new business and quoting margins of up to 4% on more or less plain vanilla deals. Conversely, the German mortgage bank Aareal is seeking to do more business in Finland as they have not been able to deploy enough capital on the home market and see the Nordic region as a relatively safe place to do lending.In general the European real estate market is still suffering from a lack of available financing and in most markets, outside prime locations, investor demand remains weak.

Written by Peter Lilja, Peter.Lilja@Situs.com

European Debt Capital Markets One major growth market is debt trades. The UK bank Lloyds has now successfully closed four portfolio sales in the UK and Ireland and is now seeking to sell a portfolio of German loans. As banks de-lever, we expect this to be a growing market as more banks see the success of these trades and pricing transparency increases. The general consensus is that 2013 will not be much different than 2012 with the exception that there will be a few more loan trades occuring in the UK and Germany.

Written by Hugo Raworth, Hugo.Raworth@Situs.com

The Situs Report

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:37:41 GMT

Global Financial Market Scrutiny

Over the past five years, the global financial market has come under extreme scrutiny, due to the economic downturn. The call for data transparency has been heralded by individuals, investors, and government regulators across the globe. Although governmental reform, such as Dodd-Frank has gone a long way in the U.S. to address the requirements of enhanced risk reporting, the Act has had little impact on the non-US regulated financial institutions.

The increased pressure on banks to provide higher level data integrity and quantitative risk analysis has placed continued stress on existing human resources and technology, at a time when most have experienced record layoffs and continued costs cutting measures. As a result, banks are investing in new data and document management systems, which in turn are pushing the limits of in-house staff to manage the system integration projects.

Situs' Back Office Fulfillment Group has supported many clients in their efforts to provide better data transparency, through document imaging, data aggregation, and data validation exercises. Over the past five years, Situs has worked with multiple banking institutions collecting and validating data on commercial real estate, acquisition & development and C & I loans for the purposes of regulatory requirements, mergers & acquisitions, recapitalization, as well as, in-house systems integration projects.

Although it's reasonable to say that real estate prices have hit the bottom in most markets across the U.S., it is clear that those who regulate our banking system still have a lot of wood to chop over the coming years. No doubt the capital markets industry will play a key role in the overall financial market recovery; however, in order for this to happen, financial institutions will be required to spend untold sums on system upgrades to provide regulators the level of reporting that they will ultimately require.

Written by Steven Bean, Steven.Bean@Situs.com

Third Quarter looks up for Structured Products

The structured products markets enjoyed a sustained rally during the third quarter. The rally was led by the non-agency residential market and the CMBS market soon followed suit. It was first led by capitulation; investors coming to terms with low interest rates for the next 24- 36 months. Further steam was added in mid-September as the Feds announced QE3 stimulus with the introduction of a plan to purchase of agency MBS. Non-agency MBS prices increased from $10 to $20 points, collateral and capital stack specific. CMBS senior bonds were tighter by approximately 50 bps, an increase of $3 while mezzanine bonds tightened by roughly 150 bps or roughly $8 points. We see the best relative value in legacy senior bonds relative to new issue and new issue below investment grade bonds for those investors seeking higher yields.

Written by Julie Madnick, JulieM@Ranieripartners.com

Banking Duress?

While the headline risk of Fear Friday's has subsided, the banking sector remains under duress. According to the FDIC, its "Problem List" of banks totaled 732 (over 10% of all banks) with aggregate assets totaling $282 billion. The system has over 1,200 less banks than it did in 2007. As to loan quality, throughout the US banking sector, there remains approximately $40 billion in REO and $30 billion in past due and nonaccrual loans. These totals are almost evenly split between those banks greater than and less than $10 billion in assets.

Beyond the data of the reporting banks, we must also consider the residual impact of our banking crisis that began in 2007. Per SNL Financial LLC, since 2007, over 450 banks have been closed by the FDIC that aggregate to over $700 billion in assets with over $180 billion of these bank assets sold to buyers under a loss share basis. As of 2Q 2012, banks held $90 billion in assets covered by FDIC loss share agreements. As almost half of these "covered assets" were acquired in 2009, a large portion of these loss share assets should be approaching their expiration date in 2014.

And what does all this mean? Many weaker financial institutions continue to endure balance stress with limited access to capital. Their survival options include raising capital or merging. For the stronger banks, they see a generational opportunity to acquire weaker, regional peers at compelling valuations. Yet, they too, remain burdened with balance sheet stress and, for many, the overhang of the expiration of covered assets.

From Situs' Bank & Loan Advisory Group's perspective, we remain active serving the sector by providing independent and objective balance sheet and loan valuations in support of investment banking activities, as well as, for portfolio acquisitions and sales. In this brave new frontier of banking, we also remain active providing valuations for covered assets approaching expiration, advising on loan/asset disposition strategies, regulatory stress tests and, obviously, third party and special servicing mandates.

Written by Kenneth Segal, Ken.Segal@Situs.com

Trying to Predict the Future

Predictive analytics, which seeks to understand what is going to happen next as opposed to trying to understand what just happened, is gaining tremendous traction inside of Wall Street technology shops. The credit reporting agencies revolutionized the predictive analytics discipline with their credit scoring models. Now, sophisticated participants in the CRE mortgage space are leveraging their vast amounts of property performance data against economic and interest rate models to better gauge and price default risk.

The weak link in this process is the quality and relevance of the loan and property data being fed through the models. Thus, we are seeing a sharp increase in interest from financial institutions, ranging from smaller regional banks to larger commercial institutions who are searching for technology solutions that will enable them to capture data at the appropriate time in a loan's lifecycle; leading to greater precision when attempting to ascertain balance sheet, portfolio, and loan level risk. A side benefit of all of this data collection is many institutions will be ready and able to meet the rigorous reporting demands that continue to flood in from various regulating agencies.

Written by Raj Mehta, RMehta@Cjctechnologies.com

If you are interested in working at Situs please visit www.situs.com/careers

UBS Bankers Move to Ranieri Firm to Keep Deals: Mortgages

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:04:31 GMT

By Sarah Mulholland - Nov 13, 2012

UBS AG, the investment bank that’s eliminating 10,000 jobs as it retreats from fixed-income, isn’t giving up on the $550 billion commercial-mortgage bond market.

Switzerland’s largest bank is teaming with mortgage-bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri’s Situs to reduce headcount by shifting 30 of its bankers to the consulting firm where they are originating and underwriting commercial mortgages, said Ken Cohen, the New York-based head of the CMBS group at UBS. The lender will continue to trade and issue securities linked to everything from strip malls to skyscrapers.

The Zurich-based bank’s commitment highlights the profitability of bundling property loans into bonds as buyers scour the fixed-income landscape for higher-yielding investments amid Federal Reserve efforts to stimulate growth by holding interest rates at record lows. Issuance of the debt surged to the highest in almost five years in September as investor confidence grew the commercial property market is recovering.

“The CMBS market has seen a tremendous resurgence in the past few months,” said Scott Singer, a principal at the Singer & Bassuk Organization LLC, a real-estate firm that represents property owners and developers arranging financing. “Late night e-mails and weekend conversations with CMBS lenders have become the norm again. A switch was turned back on and it’s driven by demand in the bond buying marketplace.”

Lending Assignment

UBS teamed with Barclays Plc to win a $1.6 billion lending assignment to General Growth Properties Inc. last month, beating out Wall Street rivals including Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group at UBS ranked fourth in underwriting the deals in the first half of 2012, up from fifth in 2011, according to the Commercial Mortgage Alert, an industry newsletter.

Even as some debt markets experience record issuance, UBS plans to eliminate about 10,000 jobs as Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti, 52, shrinks its investment bank under pressure from Swiss regulators to boost capital. The lender is retreating from capital-intensive investment-banking businesses such as fixed-income trading to rely more on its wealth management unit, the world’s second largest, to boost returns for shareholders.

For UBS, maintaining CMBS is important to keeping an edge in its money management business.

“The CMBS business dovetails beautifully with the wealth management division,” Cohen said in a telephone interview. “The wealth management clientele tend to be the ultra high-net worth folks, and are likely to have some exposure to commercial real estate in their investments.”

Situs Move

About 10 people are currently in the process of moving from UBS to Situs, completing the bank’s plan to move most of its CMBS originators and underwriters to the Houston-based firm, Cohen said. The transition is unrelated to the job cuts announced last month, he said.

“We embarked on this months ago,” he said. “It’s just a more efficient way to do business.”

Situs, which provides commercial real estate consulting services like due diligence on properties and underwriting to clients including Wall Street banks. Ranieri is chairman, according to the company’s website.

Ranieri, 65, a pioneer of loan securitization, started in the mailroom at Salomon Brothers when he was 19 and built a career as a trader and leader of the firm’s mortgage-bond department through the 1980s. His efforts were chronicled in “Liar’s Poker,” the 1989 book about bond traders by Michael Lewis.

Ranieri Investments

His firms’ other commercial real-estate investments include Ranieri Real Estate Partners, Ranieri Real Estate Advisors, a debt and equity broker, and Berkeley Point Capital, which provides funds for multifamily buildings, according to its website.

Steven Powel, the president of Situs, declined to comment on client business.

UBS rose 0.8 percent today in Zurich to 14.53 Swiss francs. It has advanced 11 percent since before the Oct. 30 announcement, extending its gains this year to 31 percent.

The investment bank will keep its advisory business, as well as equities, foreign exchange and precious metals, and will maintain some capabilities in rates and credit. About 2,000, or 28 percent, of about 7,200 front-office staffers will be cut at the division globally, and total reductions at the unit will be “north of 5,000,” Ermotti said on an Oct. 30 conference call.

Surging Sales

Sales of commercial-mortgage bonds are surging as yield- starved investors wager on a recovery in commercial property after values rose 41.5 percent since bottoming in January 2010, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Wall Street has arranged about $33 billion in sales of the debt this year, compared with $28 billion in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Issuance, though down from a record $232 billion in 2007, is forecast to reach $45 billion this year, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

The extra yield investors demand to own top-ranked CMBS rather than Treasuries has fallen to 1.11 percentage points from 2.47 percentage points on Jan. 3 and is down from the peak of 15.07 percentage points in November 2008, according to the Barclays CMBS Aaa Super Duper index.

Rising sales are a boon for borrowers with loans coming due as lenders compete to offer landlords the best terms. UBS can leverage its relationships with property owners to boost business, Cohen said.

“If somebody owns a shopping center, our ability to provide that wealth management client with a financing source is a great tie-in,” Cohen said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah Mulholland in New York at smulholland3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net; Rob Urban at robprag@bloomberg.net

CJC Technologies in Conjunction with Situs Appoints Raj Mehta to Director, Client Development

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:10:42 GMT

New York, November 12, 2012 – CJC Technologies, a leading provider of commercial real estate loan origination and asset management software solutions in conjunction with Situs, the premier provider of commercial real estate loan advisory services, today announced the appointment of Raj Mehta to director, client development.
In his new role, Mr. Mehta will be responsible for managing the industry-wide adoption of CJC’s flagship loan origination and asset management system, CLOSER. Consistently recognized as the most intuitive and flexible option for commercial real estate lenders, CLOSER provides clients with a true “life of loan” system. CJC has quietly become one of the most diversified firms in this business, supporting portfolio lenders, CMBS participants, agency lenders, credit unions, and industry service providers. As evidenced by Mr. Mehta’s hiring and the opening of CJC’s office in New York, CJC continues to expand its client base in the New York area.

”Raj brings valuable experience, expertise, and relationships to the CJC/Situs team. This hire is consistent with our historical commitment to adding and retaining highly qualified team members. We believe Raj will continue to expand our ability to deliver truly valuable solutions to our customers. I am very pleased to have Raj expanding our presence in this critical market, and our clients will benefit from this addition to our team,” said Brett Williams, president of CJC.

“As a seasoned professional and thought leader, Raj brings the insight and drive we need to realize our full growth potential for our Technology business,” said Steve Powel, president of Situs. “Raj will be an incredible asset to our team as we expand our products and client base offerings,” he added.

Prior to joining CJC, Mr. Mehta spent eight years in the financial services sector, with stays at JP Morgan & Credit Suisse, delivering industry-leading CRE origination, analytics, and bespoke trading platforms. Prior to his time on Wall Street, Mr. Mehta worked in the Business Technology office at McKinsey & Company where he focused on developing process reengineering strategies and governance protocols aimed at improving operational and financial performance. Mr. Mehta holds an M.S. in Real Estate from Columbia University and is an active member of CREFC and the MBA.

About CJC: CJC Technologies was founded in April 2004 by Brett Williams. In 2007, CJC sold an equity interest to The Situs Companies. This partnership was structured to further enhance the content expertise and resources available to CJC for further product development and support. The stated mission of CJC is to bridge the gap between internal technology needs and ongoing organizational initiatives; the technical staff and the front-line practitioners. CJC has 50 years combined experience in Commercial Real Estate Lending technology solutions ranging from database management to software development. Our key added value is the integration of industry knowledge and the technical understanding of structuring and delivering that content. CJC has grown its client base each year since inception, reflecting our ability to leverage this experience and deliver tangible value to our customers.

Contact: Michael Goodwin Makovsky for Situs 212-508-9639 mgoodwin@makovsky.com

Kenneth Segal, MD to Head Situs’ Bank and Loan Advisory Business

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:13:44 GMT

New York, October 15, 2012 – Situs, a leading provider of global commercial real estate services and consulting solutions, today announced the appointment of Kenneth Segal to Managing Director and head of Situs’ Bank & Loan Advisory business, reporting to Steve Powel, President.

In his new role, Segal will be responsible for managing Situs’ rapidly expanding bank and loan advisory business. Over the past four years Situs has supported investment banking transactions in excess of $100 billion, leveraging their direct experience in credit, lending, capital markets, asset management, disposition and the resolution of bank assets. In a loan advisory capacity, Situs has advised banks, private equity firms and REITs in the vast majority of major recent portfolio loan sales in both the U.S. and Europe. Traditionally Situs’ business in the space has been transaction-related, but the addition of Segal will be to expand capabilities to address evolving needs, such as loss share analyses and stress tests, regulatory reviews and credit migration assessments.

“Ken brings the drive and deep capital markets and bank credit experience we need to lead our Bank & Loan Advisory business to its fullest potential,” said Steve Powel, President. “As a seasoned professional with more than 25 years in this industry, Ken will be a tremendous asset to our team as we expand our service offerings, continue to build our global team and improve on the execution and counsel that has been our hallmark since 1985.”

Prior to joining Situs, Segal served as Managing Director at Ranieri Financial Services. His experience includes work on dozens of both performing and lesser-performing loan and asset disposition mandates. He also performed community bank valuations in support of qualifying investment banking strategies. Segal is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Bowdoin College, with a degree in Chemistry, and has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, in Finance and Accounting.

Contact: Jennifer Caluri 212-294-1312 jennifer.caluri@situs.com

Situs Expanding Atlanta Office

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 03:03:33 GMT

Atlanta, October 22, 2012 – Situs, a leading provider of global commercial real estate services and consulting solutions, today announced plans for a significant expansion of the firm’s Atlanta office.

“Situs is on a strong growth trajectory and our presence in Atlanta will continue to play a critical role in delivering needed services and counseling for the commercial real estate sector,” said Jennifer Lang, Managing Director of Situs. “Atlanta is home to a wealth of talent and experience – a resource that Situs hopes to leverage with this expansion.”

Located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, the Situs location currently employs 15 professionals with expertise in commercial real estate loan underwriting, bank loan evaluation and forensic accounting. Through immediate hiring, the firm hopes to double its talent in the area by the first quarter of 2013.

This expansion follows additional growth for Situs in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has seen similar staff additions in the company’s Houston and Robbins, N.C. offices. In the past month, the company announced the acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s European commercial mortgage servicing business, making Situs one of the largest third party servicers in Europe.

All inquiries should be directed to: Tracey Pina, Tracey.Pina@Situs.com or 713-328-4469

About Situs

Since 1985, clients have relied on Situs’ experience, insight and best-in-class processes. Combining creativity, flexibility and strategic planning, the company offers life of the loan solutions from due diligence to disposition. The company is recognized throughout the industry for consulting, advisory, servicing, outsourcing and disposition solutions. More recently, the company added capital markets and platform restructuring expertise through its affiliate, Oasis Real Estate Partners. Situs is headquartered in Houston and has offices throughout the United States and Europe. Visit our website at www.situs.com.

Situs Acquires Deutsche Bank's European Commercial Mortgage Servicing Business

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:47:19 GMT

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Situs today announced the acquisition of Deutsche Bank's London-based commercial mortgage loan servicing business. The acquisition includes CMBS and balance sheet servicing, asset management and special servicing – making Situs one of the largest third party servicers in Europe.

In October 2011, Situs was acquired by Helios AMC, a rated special servicer sponsored by Lewis S. Ranieri, credited with creating securitization and founder of Ranieri Partners Management LLC, who operates a variety of investment management companies focused on the financial services industry.

"This acquisition underscores the strength of our relationship with Deutsche Bank, the efficiency of our servicing model and the demand for research and insight based on transparency, integrity and deep industry expertise," said W. Bruce Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of Situs.

Since entering the European market in 2004, Situs has experienced a period of aggressive market expansion. In 2009, the company acquired the primary and special loan business of Global Servicing Solutions Germany, a combined venture by Ocwen Financial and Merrill Lynch. In 2011, Situs partnered with HSH Nordbank and Helios AMC to offer loan servicing and advisory services in the Nordic region.

"This deal represents a milestone in the acceptance of third-party servicing and asset management as a viable, trusted solution in the European marketplace," said Hugo Raworth, Situs Managing Director, based in London. "Deutsche Bank's servicing business has a well-earned reputation for responsiveness and transparency in the commercial mortgage market. We look forward to continuing this high level of customer service, which has been the hallmark of Situs' success over the past 27 years."

This represents Situs' second transaction with a major European financial institution in the past two years. With almost €20 billion under management, this ranks Situs as one of the largest third-party commercial real estate servicers in Europe. Situs is aggressively pursuing other transactions in the U.S. and Europe to leverage their existing business model.

Situs has developed a commanding Pan-European presence with offices in London, Frankfurt, Dublin and Copenhagen. Effective at closing, all existing employees associated with Deutsche Bank's commercial mortgage loan servicing business were welcomed by Situs to continue in their existing roles.

About Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a substantial private clients franchise. Its businesses are mutually reinforcing. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With more than 100,000 employees in more than 70 countries, Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions, creating lasting value for its clients, shareholders, people and the communities in which it operates.

About Situs

Situs is a leading provider of commercial real estate services and business solutions to the global financial services industry. Since 1985, clients have relied on Situs' trusted insight and experience. Combining creativity, flexibility and strategic planning, Situs offers services including, Real Estate Consulting, Strategic Real Estate Advisory, Loan Servicing and Asset Management, Outsourcing Solutions, and Technology Solutions.

Contact: Jennifer Caluri
212-294-1312
jennifer.caluri@situs.com

Constantine Korologos Joins Situs as Managing Director

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:22:01 GMT

New York, September 30, 2012 –Situs, a leading provider of global commercial real estate services and consulting solutions, today announced the appointment of Constantine “Tino” Korologos as Managing Director in the firm’s CRE Advisory Practice. In his new role, Korologos will be responsible for expanding the company’s CRE & Bank Advisory business, where he will report to Steve Powel, President.

“As a seasoned professional with more than 28 years experience, Constantine provides Situs with the perspective needed to continue delivering world-class service to our clients,” said Steve Powel. “Constantine’s appointment is a testament to our growth trajectory and commitment to adding leadership that can meet the demands of an expanding market.”

Prior to joining Situs, Korologos served as Managing Director at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, where he focused on CRE capital markets, distressed buy and sell diligence, valuation/stress testing and litigation support. Previously, he was a Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Rating Agency Execution with Wachovia Securities, and a Managing Director/Principal with Bear Stearns & Co. where he managed the ratings process for CMBS and was involved in loan origination, credit, underwriting and bond distribution.

Korologosreceived a B.B.A., Finance from Baruch College and his MBA, Finance from New York University Stern School of Business.He is a Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) and is an adjunct professor in NYU’s Real Estate Master’s degree program.

About Situs
Since 1985, clients have relied on Situs’ experience, insight and best-in-class processes. Combining creativity, flexibility and strategic planning, the company offers life of the loan solutions from due diligence to disposition. The company is recognized throughout the industry for consulting, advisory, servicing, outsourcing and disposition solutions. More recently, the company added capital markets and platform restructuring expertise through its affiliate, Oasis Real Estate Partners. Situs is headquartered in Houston and has offices throughout the United States and Europe. Visit our website at www.situs.com.

Incomplete: The North Carolina town the recovery forgot

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:10:37 GMT

4 September 2012

The story of Robbins, North Carolina is the story of countless towns across America. Its mills and factories have shut down, countless buildings in the area are vacant and boarded up, and the jobs which once made this town of 1,200 people bustle vanished years ago. Just two hours away in the city of Charlotte, President Barack Obama speaks this week at the Democratic National Convention and will tout his and the Democrats' success at avoiding economic depression. But in Robbins the mood is subdued. Residents try to keep their spirits up, but fear the president and the rest of the country have forgotten them. They predict a hard road for Mr. Obama as he looks to convince America to cast their ballots for him.

Produced by the BBC's David Botti

Helios AMC Acquires The Situs Companies

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 16:10:33 GMT

NEW YORK, NY, October 7, 2011 -- Helios AMC, a rated special servicer sponsored by Ranieri Partners that provides commercial real estate debt and equity management services, announced that it has acquired The Situs Companies, a global real estate advisory firm. The combined company will operate as The Situs Companies.

For the last 26 years, The Situs Companies has offered a full range of commercial real estate services, including strategic advisory, due diligence, valuation services, loan servicing, asset management, variable and dedicated back office outsourcing, brokerage, disposition, and industry leading technology solutions.

Helios CEO D. Keith Johnson will serve as CEO of the combined platform. The Situs principals will assume leadership positions with co-Founder Ralph Howard serving as the President of Europe, Steve Powel, serving as President of North America and co-Founder Martin Bronstein serving as President of Situs Asset Solutions. The Helios AMC principals, led by Eric Lindner, co-Founder and Executive Managing Director, and John Maute, co-Founder and Managing Director, will continue in their current roles, overseeing the distressed asset acquisition and special servicing business.

The combined company employs over 400 professionals and is headquartered in Houston, TX, with 12 offices across the United States and Europe.

Johnson said: “We feel we have created the most comprehensive services platform in the industry focused on commercial real estate. With experienced professionals across the platform and a preeminent management team, the combined company offers clients a compelling strategic value proposition. We look forward to global opportunities as we take advantage of the complementary footprint and expanded services.”

Situs provides a global multi-discipline commercial real estate services platform with scale, geographical coverage, and an industry leading reputation. The Helios team brings extensive global experience in special servicing, asset management and distressed debt acquisition and resolution. “Helios sponsorship allows us to maintain our top tier position as a third-party provider of services, which was the primary consideration when selecting a strategic partner,” said Powel.

Ranieri Real Estate Partners LP served as financial advisor to Helios AMC and Duff & Phelps LLC served as financial advisor to The Situs Companies.

About Helios

AMC Helios AMC is a rated special servicer providing a full range of commercial real estate debt and equity management and investment services for opportunistic investors, financial institutions and portfolio lenders. The Helios AMC team comprises seasoned professionals with extensive experience in special servicing, asset management and distressed debt acquisition, management and resolution

About Situs

The Situs Companies is a leading provider of commercial real estate services and business solutions to the global financial services industry. Since 1985, clients have relied on Situs’ trusted insight and experience. Combining creativity, flexibility and strategic planning, Situs offers services including, Real Estate Consulting, Strategic Real Estate Advisory, Loan Servicing and Asset Management, Outsourcing Solutions, Brokerage Services and Technology Solutions.

Media contact

For Helios:
Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc.
Kristin Celauro
732-291-5456
Kristin@blicksilverpr.com

For Situs:
Jennifer Caluri
212-294-1312
Jennifer.Caluri@situs.com

To download a PDF of this press release, CLICK HERE

Textile town goes from socks to spreadsheets

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:36:25 GMT

Textile town goes from socks to spreadsheets…Struggling N.C. city’s rebound holds hope for others.

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