CARMEL, Ind. – Financial services company Merchants Capital announces today it has secured $31.9 million in acquisition bridge loans and $57.8 million in seven separate 221(d)(4) loans for the Thetford Portfolio, a seven property low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) 221(d)(4) pilot transaction in North Carolina. The deal was closed in partnership with Vitus, a national leader in preserving and enhancing affordable housing around the country. The North Carolina Thetford Portfolio consists of seven housing properties with over 90% Section 8 subsidy in addition to a number of budget-based rent increase properties on historical contracts from the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990, which offered project incentives to preserve low-income rental properties. Merchants Capital provided the acquisition bridge loans to take down the seven properties at high loan-to-cost to facilitate the LIHTC executions, then closed on seven separate 221(d)(4) loans on the same day, simultaneously. [caption id="attachment_252" align="alignleft" width="153"] Matt Kaercher[/caption] “This seven-deal, same day closing for the North Carolina Thetford Portfolio is unprecedented with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” said Merchants Capital Senior Vice President Matt Kaercher. “A single sub-rehabilitation LIHTC transaction is difficult enough for execution, but seven simultaneously requires a different subset of skills and persistence. The ability of all parties involved – from the borrower Vitus, HUD and our team at Merchants Capital – warrants the highest level of praise.” According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the U.S. has a shortage of over 6.8 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters. Specifically, North Carolina has a shortage of 190,910 affordable rental homes available for low-income renters. The loan structure of seven new affordable housing developments will be a step in the right direction for the state. Additionally, during the project, Vitus closed a single bond issuance that saved the project money while pursuing the same day closing. “Vitus specializes in protecting existing affordable housing in communities with the greatest need. This was a unique transaction that enabled us to do so for seven properties at once. We are grateful for the guidance of the Merchants Capital team, the flexibility of our bond issuer Burlington Housing Authority and the cooperation of the many parties involved along the way in getting a deal of this complexity financed,” said Brooke Shorett, Director of Development Management for Vitus, the developer of the project. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. ###

CARMEL, Ind. – Financial services provider Merchants Capital today announces that it has formed a registered investment advisor, Merchants Asset Management LLC, and secured equity commitments totaling $165 million through a joint venture between an institutional investor and Merchants Bancorp. Evan Gibson Terry Oznick Dean Ramsamooj The joint venture will purchase multifamily and healthcare commercial real estate loans from Merchants Capital’s parent company, Merchants Bank of Indiana. This venture will be managed by the newly formed investment advisor and initially operated by Merchants Capital’s Evan Gibson, Vice President of Debt Strategies; Terry Oznick, Senior Vice President and General Counsel; and Dean Ramsamooj, Vice President of Debt Strategies, while they continue to build out the investment advisory business. Michael Dury “This unique joint venture increases our ability to serve our top customers by increasing our lending capacity to them and expanding our product suite beyond the constraints of the bank’s balance sheet,” said Michael Dury, Merchants Capital President and CEO. “Moving forward, we can be more creative, efficient, and provide a better execution for our most valued clients.” Loans purchased by the venture will be financed by JPMorgan through a repurchase agreement that will allow for up to $600 million of loan capacity. Nomura Securities International, Inc. served as exclusive financial advisor and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP acted as legal advisor to the venture. Today’s news comes on the heels of another milestone announcement by Merchants Capital’s Debt Strategies Group for the completion of a $262 million securitization of 15 workforce multifamily housing loans through a Freddie Mac-sponsored Q-Series transaction. The transaction with Merchants marked only the 15th deal completed under the Q platform, with Freddie Mac averaging just over two deals per year. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. ###

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.