Industry News

WASHINGTON – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announces it has established a Washington, D.C., office – the company’s fifth nationwide. Located at 505 9th St., NW, #800, just blocks from the Capitol, the new office serves as a hub for nearly a dozen team members and is led by Dwayne George, Executive Vice President and National Head of Production. George is joined by Denise Gomez Oluwo, Senior Vice President of Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Underwriting, and Bianca Geary, Head of GSE Closings, making the new space the center of Merchants Capital’s GSE platform. Dwayne George Denise Gomez Oluwo Bianca Geary The office serves as part of the company’s strategy to expand its national lending footprint while accommodating current and long-term growth on the East Coast. Additionally, the new space allows Merchants Capital to be more equipped to utilize the tools at its disposal to directly benefit its roster of clients, including expanding on its commitment to innovation and efficiency when closing multifamily and affordable housing loans through the support of its banking operation, Merchants Bank. “We are excited to be positioned in downtown Washington, D.C., as it is a natural fit for the firm to be in close proximity to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other landmark institutions that support affordable multifamily housing across the nation,” George said. “Attracting local talent and building a solid team here will be crucial to our success, as we develop a standing presence, continue to grow our platform and foster longstanding client relationships in this core market.” The expansion follows Merchants Capital’s announcement that it was named the #4 multifamily affordable lender nationwide on the prestigious Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 2020 Commercial/Multifamily Originator Listing. In total, the company closed $2.2 billion in affordable loans across 188 transactions, with an average transaction size of $11.8 million, last year. The company continues to seek driven employees for a variety of positions at all five offices: Indianapolis, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Washington, D.C. For career opportunities, visit our careers page. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

INDIANAPOLIS – Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital (MCC), along with Merchants Bank of Indiana (MBI), announces today that it has completed a $262 million securitization of 15 workforce multifamily housing loans through a Freddie Mac-sponsored Q-Series transaction. The Freddie Mac program provides increased liquidity to allow financial institutions, such as MCC, to continue to support affordable and workforce housing. Started in 2014, this program offers a flexible securitization structure and allows institutions to remove seasoned loans from their balance sheets, manage their portfolio and maintain key relationships. This transaction with Merchants marks only the 15th deal completed under the Q platform, with Freddie Mac averaging just over two deals per year. MBI will retain the equity and the interest-only securities from the transaction, and MCC will continue to sub-service the loans in the pool. The $262 million in loans consisted of exclusively workforce properties, owned and operated by some of MCC’s largest clients. On a weighted average basis, the portfolio had 99.5% of units under 80% area median income (AMI), 70.5% of units under 60% AMI and 42.3% of units under 50% AMI. “Our strong expertise in mortgage banking uniquely positions us among other regional banks in the country,” said Evan Gibson, Merchants Capital Vice President of Debt Strategies. “We use our balance sheet wisely, finding opportunities for liquidity and flexibility when possible. The ability to utilize the Freddie Mac Q platform gave us an added outlet for our growing production.” The 15 loans came from across the country, but were concentrated around Indiana and the Midwest, where Merchants has a strong presence. “Evan and the rest of our capital markets team are dedicated to expanding Merchants product offerings beyond the confines of our balance sheet so that we can be more dynamic, ultimately supporting our customers’ needs,” said Michael Dury, Merchants Capital President and CEO. “We are always working on alternative solutions to provide the best financing solutions in affordable and workforce housing, and this Q transaction is the first step in that direction.” “The Q-Deal structure allows Freddie Mac to meet its Duty to Serve objective of supporting financial institutions like Merchants in providing liquidity for affordable multifamily housing,” said Steve Johnson, Vice President of Targeted Affordable Housing at Freddie Mac. “Working together with Merchants Capital, we are supporting workforce housing for more than 764 families located mostly in non-coastal states,” added Christina House, a Multifamily Production Manager with Freddie Mac’s Targeted Affordable Housing group who took the lead on the transaction. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. ABOUT MERCHANTS CAPITAL Established in 1990, Merchants Capital is one of the nation’s top lenders for the refinance, acquisition, new construction and substantial rehabilitation of multifamily, affordable, senior and student housing. Whether you are considering Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, HUD/FHA insured or balance sheet or tax credit equity financing, let our personalized services help you meet your financing objectives. Experience the creativity of a small lender, with all the capabilities of a large institution. To learn more about Merchants Capital, visit www.merchantscapital.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS  This press release contains forward-looking statements which reflect management’s current views with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "might," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "expect," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "projection," "goal," "target," "outlook," "aim," "would," "annualized" and "outlook," or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control, such as the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, management cautions that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.  A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the severity, magnitude, duration and businesses’ and governments’ responses thereto, on the Company’s operations and personnel, and on activity and demand across its businesses, and other factors identified in "Risk Factors" or "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any forward-looking statements presented herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

Merchants Capital is proud to support a safe, value-based environment for our staff and clients that extends out into the community, where many of us who are based at the company’s Indianapolis headquarters live and work. That’s why, when we were presented with the opportunity to partner with Indianapolis college and career preparatory high school Providence Cristo Rey (PCR), we jumped in headfirst. Providence Cristo Rey High School offers a “transformational educational experience to students with economic need” to those living in Indianapolis. The coeducational high school prepares students for the job world by enrolling each student in a corporate work study. This experience at PCR is unique in that all students work one day each week for their designated company, and the money that they earn goes directly towards tuition – keeping costs low for families. Industries that students can work in include law offices, accounting firms, hospitals, universities, nonprofits and financial services like Merchants Capital. Every student receives a Career Mentor at their company, one who guides them and trains them in professional and soft skills to prepare them for life after school. After four years, a graduate of PCR will have earned over 1,000 hours of professional work experience. PCR partners with more than 60 companies from Indianapolis and Carmel, and Merchants Capital is honored to be one of them. We are currently in our fifth year of our partnership together. We started with just one participant, and we’ve now grown to host two incredibly dedicated, smart and talented PCR students each school year. Every Monday and Wednesday, one of the students comes to our offices to learn about a career in the mortgage banking industry. The students are educated on everything from lending, insurance and public speaking to affordable housing, underwriting and critical thinking. Merchants Capital is proud to open our doors to play a lasting and instrumental role in the lives of these students. It has been an enlightening experience to witness the immense personal growth, increased self-confidence and enhanced education our students have received here at Merchants Capital. We’ve provided them a platform and an opportunity, and they have taken it and run with it. Additionally, during the 2020 holiday season, Merchants Capital provided our PCR students with support to spread a little Christmas cheer and thank them for their hard work throughout this unprecedented year. We understand the importance of making an MPACT like this one. Launched in 2018, our MPACT Program supports the initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together to make an impact in our communities. Our goal with PCR is that the young adults of today can make an MPACT on our future. We are proud to partner with Providence Cristo Rey and look forward to what we can continue to do together in the years to come.

CARMEL, Ind. – Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital today announces the hiring of Dewayne Hayward as Vice President, Federal Housing Association (FHA) Asset Management and Mark Ciarrocchi as Senior Vice President, Investor Accounting. As Vice President, FHA Asset Management, Dewayne Hayward will serve as head of Asset Management for Merchants’ private label subservicing team. Hayward previously served as Team Lead of FHA Asset Management at ORIX Real Estate Capital, where he managed a portfolio of over $20 billion of commercial real estate, multifamily and health care properties across the U.S. Prior to joining ORIX, Hayward worked as Assistant Vice President, Asset Management for Capital One Multifamily Finance and as an FHA Asset Manager for Prudential Financial. Hayward also became a licensed real estate agent in 2020, serving Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. Hayward will be working out of his home in Carrollton, Texas. “We are very excited to welcome Dewayne Hayward to our growing team,” said Lisa Lundeen, Merchants Capital Senior Vice President, FHA & Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Asset Management. “With Dewayne’s depth of knowledge and over 19 years of experience in asset management and real estate, we know he can help us take Merchants’ private label servicing to the next level.” Mark Ciarrocchi joins Merchants Capital as Senior Vice President, Investor Accounting where he will be leading GSE investor reporting and the Merchants servicing department’s account reconciliations. Previously, Ciarrocchi served as the Manager of Multifamily Asset Management and Loan Servicing for Freddie Mac for over eight years. There, Ciarrocchi acted as the business lead for new initiatives and developments, managed monthly investor reporting for over 1,000 bond/cash loan collateral (including tax exempt bonds for multifamily real estate) and more. Ciarrocchi also worked in investor reporting at CWCapital Asset Management and Wells Fargo Bank prior to Freddie Mac. Ciarrocchi will be working out of his home in Waxhaw, North Carolina. “Mark Ciarrocchi has 21 years of commercial real estate asset management and loan servicing experience, and he has a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable to our Merchants Capital team,” said Nisha Cuellar, Merchants Capital Senior Vice President, Investor Accounting. “We are incredibly thrilled to have Mark on board with us.”

NEW YORK (July 14, 2020) – Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital today announces the hiring of Dwayne George as Executive Vice President, National Head of Production. With 15 years of diverse multifamily production and management experience, George is recognized as an adept problem solver with proven success in multifamily production and sales team management, as well as originating and underwriting Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) executions. George previously held positions at Greystone and Northmarq, but most recently, at Freddie Mac as Senior Director of Target Affordable Housing Production where he managed the Freddie Mac Optigo® Lender Network – a platform that consists of 19 lenders that is responsible for originating $6 billion of annual affordable housing production. Prior to joining the production team, George served as a Senior Underwriter in Freddie Mac’s Target Affordable Housing Group, where he was responsible for obtaining and granting credit approvals for LIHTC Preservation, Section 8, Bond Credit Enhancements, Moderate Rehabilitations, and Extended Use loans totaling $300-$400 million in annual production. During his first three years at Freddie, he orchestrated the purchase of $920 million in Freddie Mac Target Affordable originations, which included the firm’s largest Target Affordable Housing Capital Markets Execution (CME) transaction, the first Short Term Bond Execution, and the first Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion. In his new role at Merchants Capital, George’s primary responsibility is to lead the company’s sales team, where he will be working closely with Merchants’ sales office leads in New York, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Indianapolis and Chicago. He will spend the majority of his time traveling and meeting with loan originators and customers, training existing sales personnel, managing the sales process closely, and recruiting for and growing new offices. “We are thrilled to welcome Dwayne George, a proven leader and mortgage banking executive, to our growing team,” said Michael R. Dury, President and CEO of Merchants Capital. “As we continue to grow our sales team across the country, it was essential to give them support through sales and product training, but most importantly, provide them with best in class leadership to help grow their respective businesses. Many of our team members already had a strong relationship with Dwayne during his time at Freddie Mac, which I believe will allow for a smooth transition and allow him to hit the ground running. I am excited for our customers to meet Dwayne and be able to benefit from his thoughtfulness and creativity as he accesses our creative balance sheet products combined with our expertise with the GSEs and Federal Housing Administration (FHA).” George is a graduate of Goucher College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management. He also holds a master’s degree in Real Estate from Georgetown University. “My experience in the private sector and at Freddie Mac has fueled my pursuit of providing a dynamic approach to multifamily finance with a hyper-focus on the customer experience,” George said. “The team at Merchants shares my vision to effectively and efficiently expand the firm’s national affordable multifamily housing presence in the market. I’m excited to play an active role in advancing Merchants Capital’s commitment to continued excellence.”

NEW YORK (Feb. 18, 2020) – Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital today announces the hiring of Evan Gibson as Vice President of Debt Strategies. Gibson brings with him a diverse background in capital markets and commercial real estate to Merchants Capital. Most recently, Gibson served as the head of a direct lending platform for a top HUD lender, with a focus on health care and multifamily asset classes, which included both value-add and stabilized properties. Gibson is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in mathematics. In his new position, Gibson will lead Merchants Capital’s Debt Strategies group, which will focus on developing both bridge and permanent debt solutions outside of the typical balance sheet and agency landscape. Based in the company’s New York City office, Gibson will work collaboratively with Merchants’ originations, credit and capital markets teams to roll out these new solutions to clients. “When we look around an increasingly competitive agency lending marketplace, our company needs to continue to find ways to deliver innovative products to our customers,” said Brian Sullivan, COO of Merchants Capital. “Evan’s deep experience and key contacts will support the growth of this new channel, giving our producers more tools in their kit to find industry leading solutions for their clients.” Gibson is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he was a Team Leader at 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion. In 2009 he deployed to Now Zad in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province as both a Reconnaissance Marine and Scout Sniper. “I’ve been fortunate to see all sides of multifamily and health care agency execution, which has taught me just how critical the need is for innovative approaches to these deals in the marketplace. I am looking forward to developing the unique alternatives that will be key to our growth,” Gibson said. “The team at Merchants shares my vision to lead the industry with the client’s needs first in mind.” To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

CARMEL, Ind. (Aug. 23, 2019) – Mortgage banking firm Merchants Capital has secured $21.4 million in funding using a Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) as collateral for new Tax-Exempt Bonds (M.TEB), combined with 4% low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). The funding was the first of its kind in the state of Indiana and sourced on behalf of long-time Merchants Capital customer, the Gene B. Glick Company, for the preservation of Carriage House of Evansville, a Section 8 housing development in Evansville, Indiana. The execution utilized publicly-issued tax exempt bonds and 4% tax credit equity, provided by PNC Bank, to fund approximately $11 million in repairs, renovations and upgrades to the community. Carriage House of Evansville dates back to 1978 and is a 100% Section 8 affordable housing community serving tenants at 60% of the area median income (AMI) or less. Fannie Mae’s M.TEB solution provides borrowers with a lower interest rate and significant savings over the life of the loan, offering a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of up to 90%. This execution can be used to finance the construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) properties. “Fannie Mae continues to look for ways to create and preserve affordable housing,” said Angela Kelcher, Director of Affordable Housing at Fannie Mae. “The MBS as Tax-Exempt Bond (M.TEB) execution provides efficient, low-cost financing and we were excited to work with Merchants to support the preservation of affordability while also improving the quality of housing for the residents.” CRG Residential is the general contractor on the project and is performing all renovations at the site. All units are being modernized using CRG’s RAPID program, which completely renovates and modernizes units in just days, limiting disturbance to existing tenants. Updates include new solid surface flooring, cabinetry and countertops, energy efficient light fixtures, appliances, doors and trim, and complete bathroom renovations. “We are excited to partner with Fannie Mae and Glick to preserve much-needed affordable housing in the state of Indiana,” said Michael R. Dury, president of Merchants Capital. “Fannie Mae’s M.TEB program gives access to a lower cost of capital, which allows the development team to substantially renovate the community. As with any project involving Glick, the company’s vision and strategy is first class and at the end of the day, the completion of this project is a win for the tenants, which is wonderful.” Additional Carriage House of Evansville improvements include entry signage, asphalt and storm drainage repairs, roofing, modernized elevators and playground equipment, as well as the addition of a bark park, lakeside picnic area, fitness center and an internet cafe. “We’re grateful for our long-standing relationships with Merchants Capital and Fannie Mae that enable us to undertake renovations like this one at Carriage House of Evansville,” said David Barrett, president and chief executive officer at Glick. “Ultimately, this project illustrates our commitment to our residents – preserving their affordable housing and providing them high-quality apartment homes.”

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Emmett Donovan to FHA Deputy Chief Underwriter!  This is an incredible accomplishment and one that takes years of hard work and perseverance. As a former Vice President at Draper and Kramer Commercial Mortgage Corp., Emmett successfully underwrote all types of FHA loans and helped produce over $1 billion in HUD insured loans. In his capacity at Merchants, Emmett serves as Senior Vice President and as a voting member of the FHA Loan Committee. Emmett Donovan Emmett is a graduate of the University of Kansas and holds an MBA in Finance from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. CONGRATULATIONS EMMETT! EMMETT DONOVANSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FHA DEPUTY CHIEF UNDERWRITERChicago, Illinois

CARMEL, Ind. (April 18, 2019) – Leading mortgage banking company Merchants Capital today announces the opening of a production office in Chicago, located at 131 S. Dearborn St. in The Loop – the company’s fourth office nationwide. Lee Oller has been hired as executive vice president to lead the Chicago team. Oller brings 26 years of experience as a Chief and LEAN Underwriter and has produced more than 350 closed transactions involving the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan platforms. She brings a deep understanding of FHA, multifamily and affordable housing that will allow Merchants Capital to grow its local presence in Chicago and regionally across the Midwest. “Merchants Capital is well known in the industry for its passion for multifamily and affordable housing,” Oller said. “The biggest draw to joining Merchants was the ability to diversify our lending products especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The additional tools at our disposal, along with Merchants commitment to growth and innovation with the support from its banking operation, Merchants Bank, made the decision easy because of the direct benefit to clients.” Joining Oller in the new Chicago office are four senior vice presidents: Susan Schnoll, Alan Cravitz, Brian Black and Emmett Donovan. Schnoll is recognized in the Wisconsin market for her HUD lending knowledge. Cravitz, Black and Donovan bring more than 80 years of combined multifamily lending experience to the team. “This veteran team complements each other and has worked together for many years,” said Oller of the employees joining her in the new Chicago office. “Our expansion to Chicago with this talented group is a very meaningful step in increasing our national lending footprint,” said Michael Dury, president of Merchants Capital. “Lee’s ability to lead is remarkable. We are very excited to introduce her team to our diverse lending products that will allow them to offer a wide variety of solutions.” This expansion follows Merchants Capital’s announcement that it is now servicing more than $10 billion in loans and was named No. 10 on the Top 25 Affordable Lenders of 2018 list by Affordable Housing Finance. The company continues to seek driven employees for a number of positions in all four offices, including New York City and Saint Paul, Minnesota. For career opportunities, visit our careers page.

To our valued customers, Since opening our doors in 1990, the Merchants Capital team has worked tirelessly to become nationally recognized as a leader and premier provider and servicer of multifamily, senior and student housing. Recently, our hard work and commitment was recognized by Affordable Housing Finance. We’re proud to announce that Merchants Capital was named in the Top 10 Affordable Housing Lenders of 2018!This accomplishment is evidence of our commitment to advancing affordable housing nationally and ranks us among the top affordable lenders in the country. In 2018 alone, our originations team closed 207 loans and generated nearly $2.6 billion in new loan production nationwide.  That included $1.10 billion in affordable housing, demonstrating a 146 percent increase in affordable housing production compared to 2017. Over the past 28 years, Merchants Capital has originated and closed more than $13.8 billion in loans. Thank you for your continued support and loyalty. We wouldn’t be where we are today without your commitment to Merchants Capital. Sincerely, Michael R. Dury, President, Merchants Capital WE ARE MERCHANTS CAPITAL A Multifamily, Affordable, and Healthcare Lender offering a direct way to access fixed rate, long-term, non-recourse financing via our bank, Merchants Bank, all with a single point of contact.