Sector developments and company hires

Coupon swaps planned

The New York Fed's open market trading desk plans to conduct four small value agency RMBS coupon swap operations on 19 and 21 November. On these days, the desk intends to swap out of three unsettled December TBA positions – 30-year UMBS 3% coupon, 15-year UMBS 2.5% coupon and 30-year Ginnie Mae II 3.5% coupon – for other readily available RMBS. Each operation will have a face value of US$5m, for a total current face value of US$20m across four operations. The purpose of the exercise is to test operational readiness to implement existing and potential policy directives from the FOMC.

Lending head appointed

Greystone has added Scott Chisholm as head of commercial and business development for its lending platform, based in Greystone’s New York office. In this newly created role, Chisholm will expand Greystone’s capital solutions reach within asset classes such as industrial, office, hospitality, and retail, complementing the firm’s leading multifamily and healthcare lending platforms. With CMBS, bridge, mezzanine, and proprietary lending capabilities, Greystone is now poised to offer commercial real estate investors a range of solutions for their capital needs. Chisholm joins Greystone from Ackman Ziff, where he served as senior md specialising in commercial real estate debt and equity. 

Morgan loan prepays

The US$25.3m Raintree Apartments loan, securitised in COMM 2013-CR9, prepaid prior to its 1 June 2023 maturity date with a US$2.5m penalty. The loan was previously sponsored by Robert Morgan and only defeasance was permitted, according to Morgan Stanley CMBS analysts. The loan was transferred to special servicing in December 2018 for imminent default and was subsequently foreclosed, ahead of Morgan’s indictment for fraud. The property was included in the recent Morgan Properties acquisition (SCI 24 September).

Minority stake acquired

Owl Rock has sold a passive, non-voting minority stake to Dyal Capital Partners, a division of Neuberger Berman. Owl Rock plans to use all proceeds from the transaction to invest in Owl Rock products, which are expected to include complementary product launches and strategies in 2020. There will be no changes in the management, strategy, investment process, or day-to-day operations of Owl Rock or any Owl Rock managed products, including Owl Rock Capital Corporation, a publicly-traded BDC that is externally managed by an affiliate of Owl Rock.