CRE FinanCE W Rld

to each of these new rules fit together for individual businesses.
Those market participants least affected by the new rules are likely
to benefit the most in 2017.
CREFC’s goal this year is to continue to serve our long-standing
members, while embracing our new ones with increased programming
that helps everyone to navigate in an environment that many didn’t
expect. Mr. Trump’s win in the presidential election and then the
carry through for the Republican Party in both the House and the
Senate suggests that CREFC and all of our constituents will be
busy this year.
MF: How is the January Conference shaping up?
LP: The January CREFC Conference in Miami is always a fantastic
way for the industry to kick off a new year. Over three days, panelists,
guest speakers, and CREFC’s Forum leadership lay out the year’s
anticipated developments, opportunities, and concerns as it relates
to both macro-economic forces in the market and CRE finance. This
January’s CREFC conference comes with its own special attraction
in that we will soon have a commercial real estate professional
in the White House with President-Elect Donald Trump. And,
Republican majorities in both the House and Senate mean that
the U.S. now has an undivided government for the first time in
eight years, and thus opens up the possibility of reduced gridlock
and more action on the part of our legislators.
CREFC’s lobbyist Martin Schuh is on tap to open the Conference
on Monday afternoon with his views on what’s to come over the
next 12 to 18 months in Washington, D.C. and will be followed by
Market Strategist David Zervos, former economist at the Federal
Reserve and frequent CNBC commentator, on future Fed rate
hikes and the direction of the economy and interest rates.
CREFC’s growth over the last several years reflects its growing
member base, and the addition of bank and life company portfolio
lenders, alternative lenders, and high-yield debt investors. Our
panels at this year’s conference reflect this expanding investor
base, covering the borrower perspective, alternative lending,
current stress points in loan servicing, new risk-retention rules,
and a panel that I’m moderating that explores today’s topics with
all seven of our forums.
MF: Coming out of the conference, what do you believe
CREFC’s top priorities will be for 2017?
LP: I am very excited about the possibilities for CREFC in 2017
and beyond. At its core CREFC is about sharing knowledge, be it
with others in our business or with legislators and regulators so
they understand how our marketplace works including the impact,
for better or for worse, of laws and regulations.
Changes afoot in our nation’s capital suggest advocacy issues will
play a significant role at CREFC this year. We are committed to
advocating on issues of broad concern to the market around which
our membership finds consensus. Where consensus is more elusive,
CREFC is more likely to play the role of educator by identifying
critical issues facing the industry and ensuring the impacts of
those issues are understood by regulators and legislators. Today,
we know we have general consensus on issues such as capital
and liquidity and high-volatility CRE loans, as examples. CREFC
is leading on those issues.
Also in 2017, CREFC will continue to be a constant source of
information and educational programming for those in and outside
of the association. In 2016, CREFC held over 60 different events —
led by our large January and June conferences, and the March High
Yield & Distressed Realty Assets Summit in New York and May
Commercial Real Estate Finance Summit in Santa Monica. The
balance of our offerings were spread across the country and
consisted of after-work seminars, and Young Professional and
Women’s Network events. We are most proud of our continued
educational efforts, including the popular CMBS 101 Series, which
was offered throughout the country this year, including to a real
estate finance course at New York University. Each section of
CMBS 101 was recorded and is now available via the CREFC
website. In addition, we recently updated the CREFC CMBS
E-Primer. Go forward, we plan to unveil a CMBS 201, covering
such topics as underwriting across various lender platforms,
appraisals and valuing commercial real estate, analyzing CMBS
bonds, and current regulatory and legislative issues.
Servicing has become an important industry issue for both CMBS
borrowers and investors. Toward that end, CREFC launched a
servicer and issuer task force charged with simplifying and refining
the servicing process. This initiative will play out in 2017.
I also think it’s time to work more closely with our borrowers, be they
the clients of CMBS, portfolio, or alternative lenders. Understanding
their point of view is important to evolving our market’s products
and services in the right direction.
MF: How do next year’s goals fit into the 5-10 year/overall
strategy for CREFC?
LP: The more things change, the more things stay the same.
CREFC’s goal is to be an important resource for CRE finance
professionals and for those outside of the industry who oversee
our businesses. The most unique and endearing aspect of CREFC
is that is has always been member driven, which ensures we are
focusing on the right issues at the right time. Toward that goal, we’ll
focus more this year on ensuring that we are meeting the expectations
of all our members. And we want to hear from all of them. We
consider ourselves stewards of their investments, and plan to
provide them with a return for their faith in the association.
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