The TCW Group, a global investment firm with over $200 billion in assets under management, has launched a dedicated asset-backed finance (ABF) division, which will be supported by over $1 billion in capital commitments from TCW, its partners, and affiliates.

The Los Angeles-based firm’s expanded alternative capabilities will focus on lending against consumer assets, commercial and residential mortgages, hard assets, and financial assets, leveraging the firm’s current $90 billion liquid securitized business.

The unit will be led by Dylan Ross, who joined TCW earlier this month from Brigade Capital Management LP, as a managing director and portfolio manager. Ross helped launch Brigade’s dedicated structured credit fund in 2014.

“The demand for non-bank lenders in asset-backed finance has never been more robust and I am confident that with the strong support of TCW’s leadership, its shareholders and my new colleagues, we will become a leading partner in this fast-growing asset class,” said Ross.

The new business will be based in New York, and TCW is now building a specialized investment team for the strategy. The team will work with TCW’s fixed income division and other alternative strategies, such as its private credit and CLO platforms.

TCW announced a partnership with private credit investment firm Lakemore Partners in April to expand its CLO platform as part of its ongoing attempts to create new sources of private capital as the U.S. banking system retreats from financing markets.