Looking for CRE financing? Here’s who just flipped the bracket. 🔥
The Lender Draft CRE TOP PERFORMANCES
#9 Citigroup 86 ⚡ UPSET
#1 Wells Fargo 60
Citi Real Estate came in swinging—co-leading a $1.47B CMBS refinance on a 145-property, 32.1M sq ft industrial portfolio spanning Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, and beyond. That’s 227 buildings across six states in a single deal. The #9 seed just knocked out the top seed, jumping into the Elite Eight conversation. Wells Fargo went scoreless this week and paid the price.
Citigroup Strategy: The “Industrial Super-Cycle” & Portfolio Aggregation.
Locations Funded:
Primary: National logistical corridors (Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Florida).
Secondary: Top-tier gateway cities (New York City).
What Citi is doing based on the data:
Citi is not playing small ball. Their win comes from a massive $1.47B CMBS refinance for a 145-property industrial portfolio and an $800M office refinance for Brookfield in NYC. They are actively funding CMBS execution. This means they originate loans specifically to bundle them and sell them as bonds to investors.
Why is Citi doing this:
Citi’s strategists are publicly forecasting a “Goldilocks” environment for 2026 and projecting $130B in total CMBS originations — the highest since 2007. With $936B in CRE mortgages maturing this year, the refinancing wave is real. Citi is positioning itself at the top of that wave by writing mega-CMBS deals with floating-rate structures (SOFR + 1.70%) tied to high-occupancy industrial portfolios — a sector where sub-100K sq ft facilities are up 16% YoY in new starts. They want the institutional anchors to lock in their balance sheet before smaller borrowers flood the pipeline.
Betting on Logistics: The specific focus on Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee indicates a bet on the “Golden Triangle” of logistics—areas within a one-day truck drive of 60% of the US population. They are banking on the continued onshoring of manufacturing and e-commerce supply chain resilience.
Flight to Quality: By funding Brookfield (a top-tier sponsor) in NYC office space, Citi is taking a contrarian stance that “Trophy” Class A office assets will survive while B and C class assets falter.
How to take advantage as a Borrower or Broker:
Citi is clearly bullish on multi-state, multi-tenant industrial in the Sunbelt. If you have a small industrial portfolio — even 3 to 10 properties — in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, or Ohio, now is the window to approach Citi’s regional teams for CMBS refinancing while SOFR rates are favorable and underwriters are hungry for deal volume. For brokers, use this deal to anchor your pitch deck. A lender this aggressive on 145 properties at $1.47B is also going to be competitive on a 5-property, $40M package in the same geography. Show them the comp.
Aggregation is Key: If you are a lower-middle market investor, Citi won’t look at your single $5M warehouse. However, you can mimic the strategy: acquire smaller industrial assets in secondary logistical hubs (like Columbus, OH or Nashville, TN) with the intent to bundle them. Once you reach critical mass ($50M+), you become a candidate for this type of conduit/CMBS execution.
The “Feeder” Play: Monitor the portfolios Citi is refinancing (like Ares/Makarora). These institutional giants often prune their portfolios. There is an opportunity to buy the “non-core” assets they shed from these massive portfolios.
#16 Santander 104 🌍 UPSET
#9 Deutsche Bank 70
This is the upset of the round. Santander wasn’t just active—they were everywhere. A $355M role in Chile’s Central Oasis solar-plus-storage platform refinance. A lead position on the $249.9M Project Theia hybrid renewables portfolio in Portugal. Two continents, two massive deals, one dominant week. The #16 seed just became the story of the tournament. Deutsche Bank couldn’t match the volume or the geography.
Santander Strategy: Global ESG & The Green Infrastructure Pivot.
Locations Funded:
International: Chile, Portugal, Peru, UK.
Domestic (US): Florida (Boca Raton, Miami).
What Santander is doing based on the data:
Santander’s “upset” victory is driven by volume in Renewables. They funded Solar+Storage in Chile ($355M), Hybrid Renewables in Portugal ($249M), and BESS (Battery Storage) in the UK. Domestically, they are sticking to their retail banking footprint (Florida) for conventional construction loans (e.g., $100M for multifamily in Boca Raton).
Why is Santander doing this:
Santander is the self-described “world leader in renewable energy financing” with approximately 165 million customers across the US, Europe, and Latin America. The Spain-based parent is using its global balance sheet to dominate project finance in energy transition deals — particularly solar+storage hybrids — where European and Latin American developers need lenders with cross-border execution capability. Non-recourse senior financing on long-term PPA-backed assets fits perfectly with their regulatory capital requirements.
Regulatory Pressure & Incentives: European banks are under stricter mandates to “green” their loan books than US banks. They are aggressively chasing infrastructure projects (Solar/Wind) because these assets often come with government-backed revenue contracts (PPAs), making them lower risk than volatile commercial real estate.
The “Florida Hedge”: While going green globally, they remain bullish on Florida demographics (net migration), funding conventional multifamily construction in high-growth areas like Boca Raton.
How to take advantage as a Borrower or Broker:
Santander (the US entity) has a $13.5B multifamily real estate portfolio and is explicitly growing its US construction lending — the Boca Raton deal proves it. If you’re a developer in the Northeast or Southeast US with a 100 to 400-unit multifamily or mixed-use project, Santander’s US commercial team is actively deploying. Their sweet spot appears to be construction-to-permanent deals in transit-adjacent locations. On the energy side: if you’re a broker working with community solar developers or smaller BESS operators in the US, Santander’s global renewables infrastructure makes them a viable call — they understand these capital structures better than most US regional banks.
The “Green” Hook: If you are seeking financing from Santander (or similar European banks like BNP Paribas), adding a sustainability component—such as solar panels or energy-efficient retrofits—can push a “maybe” deal into a “yes.”
C-PACE Integration: Since Santander understands energy finance, they are likely more comfortable with capital stacks that include C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing, which can replace expensive mezzanine debt.
#25 Madison Realty Capital 79 🏗️ UPSET
#15 Affinius Capital 75
Four-point thriller. Madison Realty Capital co-led a $371.5M construction loan on Nashville’s 28-story Edition Hotel & Residences—261 rooms, 64 residences, and the Walker & Dunlop dream team on the advisory side. Affinius Capital answered with a $90M Brooklyn multifamily refinance (174 units, 27 stories), but it wasn’t quite enough. The #25 seed advances on the strength of one of the week’s biggest construction deals.
Madison Strategy: High-Yield Construction & The “Void” in Banking.
Locations Funded:
Primary: New York City (Queens, Brooklyn), Nashville, TN.
Secondary: National (Portfolio acquisitions).
What Madison is doing based on the data:
Madison is filling the gap left by regional banks. They co-led a $371.5M construction loan for a luxury hotel/condo in Nashville and a $125M condo project in Queens. They also funded a $73.3M acquisition of a self-storage portfolio, showing agility across asset classes.
Why is Madison doing this:
Madison Realty Capital launched a dedicated hospitality lending platform in 2021 with Newbond Holdings and has been systematically targeting markets where luxury hotel supply lags explosive demand growth. Nashville saw an estimated 17.4M visitors in 2025 and $11.5B in traveler spending — numbers that continue to climb. With $23B AUM and $70B in completed transactions since 2004, Madison is deploying at the top of the capital stack on branded, experiential projects (Edition, Auberge) that carry built-in exit value through condo presales. They move fast and structured this deal in coordination with a 9-person Walker & Dunlop team — they want quality sponsors, not just quality assets.
Basel III Endgame: Traditional banks are retreating from construction lending due to higher capital reserve requirements. Madison (a debt fund) does not have these regulations. They charge higher rates (often SOFR + 6% or more) but offer higher leverage and reliability.
Complex Mixed-Use: They are targeting complex deals (Hotel + Condo + Retail) that require sophisticated underwriting, which standard banks avoid due to “execution risk.”
How to take advantage as a Borrower or Broker:
Madison is not just writing $370M construction loans. They wrote a $125M condo construction loan in Queens and a $73M self-storage acquisition loan in January alone. If you have a 50 to 200-unit project in a high-growth secondary city — Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, Houston, Jacksonville — Madison is worth a direct call. Additionally, their consistent use of Walker & Dunlop and JLL advisory relationships means co-brokering or positioning your deal through those channels dramatically increases your shot at getting in front of their credit team.
Speed vs. Cost: If you have a time-sensitive closing or a construction project with a heavy “story” (e.g., waiting on final permits, pre-sales are lagging), Madison is the target. Do not go to them for cheap money; go to them for certainty.
Distressed Opportunities: Madison often lends specifically to take over assets if the borrower fails (loan-to-own). If you are a broker, bring them stalled construction sites where the current developer is out of cash—Madison can function as rescue capital.
#32 Fortress Investment Group 85 📈 UPSET
#31 PGIM 70
The all-underdog matchup went to Fortress, who provided $96M in refinancing for a 296-unit Class A multifamily in Los Angeles—built 2023, 7 stories, CityView borrower. Both seeds came in ranked near the bottom of the bracket. Only one punched through. Fortress did it with a clean, single-asset execution.
The Strategy: Distress Arbitrage & Regulatory contrarianism.
Locations Funded:
Primary: California (Los Angeles, Brea), New Jersey.
Secondary: Metro New York.
What Fortress is doing based on the data:
Fortress pulled off an upset by funding a $96M refinance for a multifamily project in Los Angeles and a $112M acquisition for a mixed-use campus in Brea, CA. They also executed a $133.5M recapitalization (effectively a bailout/restructure) for a development in New Jersey.
Why is Fortress doing this:
Fortress ($54B AUM) is executing a deliberate California multifamily strategy built around one simple insight: LA new construction is down 70% even as rental demand rises. Vacancies are forecast to stabilize around 4.4% — well below the national average of 6%. In that supply-constrained environment, Fortress is writing whole loans on Class A, recently delivered assets (Jasper was built 2023) that need bridge capital to complete lease-up and stabilize before agency financing becomes available. Their co-head of real estate debt said it plainly: “high-quality, newly built multifamily backed by an experienced sponsor” is exactly what they’re targeting.
Running Toward the Fire: Los Angeles is currently considered “uninvestable” by many conservative lenders due to the “Mansion Tax” (ULA) and rent control. Fortress is entering this market because the lack of competition allows them to command better terms and lower valuations (lower basis).
Resolution Specialists: Fortress specializes in “clean, single-asset execution” on messy balance sheets. They are funding recapitalizations where the original equity might be wiped out, but the asset itself is sound.
How to take advantage (Borrower/Broker):
This is the biggest signal in our dataset for lower-middle market operators. Fortress is specifically writing whole loans on lease-up multifamily — not just big-ticket trophy assets. If you have a 100 to 300-unit Class A or B+ property in a high-barrier California market (LA, Glendale, Brea, San Diego corridor) that’s 70-85% leased and needs a bridge to stabilization, Fortress has shown a clear and repeatable appetite to fund this exact structure. Brokers: their transaction pace in California over the last 60 days suggests an active mandate. Getting in front of Noah Shore (Global Co-Head of Real Estate Debt) or the real estate credit team now — before their Q1 allocation closes — is the move.
The “California Discount”: If you are a sponsor willing to buy in California right now, Fortress is one of the few sophisticated lenders still writing checks for large tickets ($50M+), provided your entry basis is low enough.
Rescue Capital: If you represent a borrower with a maturing loan who cannot refinance with a bank due to lower appraisals (the “maturity wall” problem), Fortress is a viable exit strategy, albeit an expensive one.
Check out our full CRE rankings → to see where your potential lender stacks up before you submit your next deal: https://thelenderdraft.com/cre-march-madness-qualification/