Merchants Capital Executes CRT on $543M Multifamily Bridge Loans

Merchants Capital executed a $543.5 million Credit Risk Transfer (CRT) secured by 41 performing multifamily bridge loans, the second multifamily CRT and third overall completed by the firm’s capital markets platform, which has executed nearly $4 billion in securitizations.

The transaction, which closed in March, was structured as a Credit Default Swap (CDS), with $76 million in credit protection purchased from a large institutional investor as a first-loss risk transfer. Bridge loans from 53 properties are included in the portfolio, with 7,040 units from 14 states, the largest concentrations in Indiana, South Carolina and Illinois.

“The capital markets team continues to add value, demonstrate innovation and fuel lending across Merchants Capital,” said Evan Gibson, EVP, Capital Markets at Merchants Capital. “We are very pleased with the growth of our platform and efficiency in providing capital relief, which provides Merchants Capital with capacity for additional loan growth.”

The transactions led by Merchants’ Capital Markets platform, including this CRT, support Merchants Capital’s production, which totaled nearly $7 billion in 2023.