Merchants Asset
Management

CARMEL, Ind. (Oct. 2, 2023) – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital announces today it has successfully completed a $303 million securitization of 11 multifamily housing loans via its fourth Freddie Mac-sponsored Q-Series transaction. The loans, ranging from $4 million to $62 million, were used for the acquisition or refinance of multifamily properties spanning eight states, with Florida, Indiana, Colorado and New Jersey making up 81% of the loan balance. Most of the properties are workforce housing developments, with a significant portion of the units’ composition comprising less than 80% of the area median income (AMI). This is Merchants’ fourth Freddie Mac Q transaction in the last two and a half years, totaling $1.1 billion in crucial real estate loans securitized nationwide. It is the second Q-Series transaction of 2023. Merchants has been the loan seller in four of the last nine Freddie Mac Q transactions, making Merchants Capital Freddie Mac’s largest Q-Series loan seller two years in a row. This news comes on the heels of a record-breaking year for the Capital Markets platform at Merchants, having executed its second and third Q-Series deals in 2022. Since its inception in 2020, the Capital Markets group has executed more than $3.5 billion in securitizations and accumulated more than $1 billion in loan purchases. “Executing on this securitization shows our strength and performance as a regional bank in this volatile financial climate,” said Evan Gibson, Merchants Capital’s Senior Vice President and head of Capital Markets. “In a down year for commercial real estate (CRE) securitizations, Merchants is completing complex securitizations to finance affordable housing in a responsible manner. We are proud to continue growing our relationship with Freddie Mac.” The transaction supports financing of affordable housing in underserved markets, qualifying as “Social Bonds” within the Social Bonds Framework published on Freddie Mac’s website. Proceeds from Social Bonds are used to provide liquidity to social impact financial institutions (community development financial institutions, housing finance agencies and small financial institutions), including parent company Merchants Bank of Indiana. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

CARMEL, Ind. (May 10, 2023) – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital proudly announces the success and growth of its Capital Markets platform, led by Senior Vice President Evan Gibson. Since its inception in 2020, the group has executed over $3 billion in securitizations and has accumulated over $900 million in assets under management. The platform focuses on providing liquidity and capital relief for parent company Merchants Bank of Indiana, to support growth in its direct bridge and construction lending. As a result of successfully executing on this strategy, the Capital Markets team has evolved into creating proprietary permanent debt solutions that supplement Merchants Capital’s balance sheet and agency lending product offerings. Gibson started the Capital Markets group in March 2020, and the team has since grown to seven who work out of the company’s Carmel and New York offices. Notable hires included Vice Presidents Dean Ramsamooj and Darren King in 2021 and 2022, respectively. On March 30, the Capital Markets team, alongside leading seniors housing and healthcare lender VIUM Capital and structuring agent and sole bookrunner ATLAS SP Partners, closed a private synthetic securitization of over $1.1 billion of first-lien floating-rate skilled nursing and seniors housing bridge loans. Merchants Capital will continue to service these loans. Merchants Bank of Indiana issued and sold $158 million aggregate principal balance of Senior Credit Linked Notes, representing approximately 14% of the reference pool. The resulting reduction in risk weighted assets for this pool of loans supports further growth and lending capacity at Merchants Capital and VIUM Capital. This synthetic securitization comes just six months after closing a securitization of $1.2 billion in multifamily bridge loans in September 2022. “Having the opportunity to lead our growing Capital Markets group is an honor, and I am proud of the impact our team has had across the Merchants platform in just our third year of operation,” said Gibson. “Our role in creating innovative solutions directly contributes to the success of the Merchants lending platform and supports the firm’s status as an industry leader in financing both multifamily through Merchants Capital, and healthcare through its partnership with VIUM Capital. This integrated platform is unique in the industry and allows us to continue servicing our clients from coast to coast with an increasing array of solutions and capacity.” In 2021, the Capital Markets group closed its first Freddie Mac Q-Series transaction, a $262 million deal that securitized 15 workforce housing loans for properties across the nation, supporting the preservation of critical housing infrastructure. In 2022, the group executed on its second and third Q-Series deals, a program that Merchants Capital expects to continue to leverage with Freddie Mac in the future. Both 2022 Q-Series transactions were designated by Freddie Mac Multifamily for their Social Bonds program, which has a framework validated through Sustainalytics’ second-party opinion. These transactions have helped define criteria for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) qualifying investments in affordable multifamily. “The growth of our Capital Markets group has been instrumental in our ability to lead the industry as one of the nation’s top multifamily financing providers,” said Brian Sullivan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Merchants Capital. “The maturation of the platform in just three years is a true testament to the work ethic and ingenuity of Evan, Dean, Darren and the team. This group has transformed the possibilities of our lending platform, widening our reach in the market and working towards our larger goal of increasing access to safe, high-quality housing for individuals and families nationwide.” 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., Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Merchants Bancorp (“Merchants”) (NASDAQ: MBIN), parent company and registered bank holding company of Merchants Bank of Indiana (“Merchants Bank”), today announced that Merchants Bank completed a private securitization of $1.2 billion of first-lien floating-rate multifamily bridge loans via a real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC).

CARMEL, Ind. – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital (MCC), along with Merchants Bank of Indiana (MBI), announces today that it has completed a $214 million Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) securitization of 14 multifamily mortgage loans secured by 24 mortgaged properties through a Freddie Mac-sponsored Q-Series transaction. This is MCC’s second such transaction – last year, MCC secured a $262 million Q-Series transaction, which consisted of 15 workforce housing properties owned and operated by some of MCC’s biggest clients. Unlike the previous transaction, 100% of the securities were guaranteed by Freddie Mac and sold to the market. MCC will continue to sub-service the loans in the pool. The $214 million in loans consisted of 14 multifamily properties in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Ohio. The developments range in size from 60 to 352 units. On a weighted average basis, the portfolio had 93.7% of units under 80% area median income (AMI), 52.1% of units under 60% AMI and 26.8% of units under 50% AMI. Several properties were made possible by low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The collateral pool is all seven-year capped adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), a new product for the platform. Due to the characteristics of the underlying mortgage loans, the certificates are designated as “Social Bonds” within the Social Bonds Framework, published on Freddie Mac’s website. Proceeds from Social Bonds are used to provide liquidity to social impact financial institutions (community development financial institutions, housing finance agencies and other financial institutions), such as MBI. These social impact financial institutions finance affordable housing to low-income communities and underserved populations consistent with the Social Bonds Framework. Freddie Mac engaged Sustainalytics, Inc., an affiliate of Morningstar, Inc., to independently evaluate the Social Bonds Framework. MCC has also created its own ESG Social Bonds Framework for use in their future deals, aligning with the four core components of the Social Bond Principles from Freddie Mac, and similarly evaluated by Sustainalytics. The ongoing assessment is based on the use of proceeds, project evaluation and selection, management of proceeds and reporting.