JPMorgan Chase is the top active commercial lender in this week’s bracket and it wasn’t particularly close in CRE. Co-leading the $3.3 billion 350 Park Avenue construction loan while Bank of America closed zero CRE deals last week is the kind of data gap that doesn’t require a tiebreaker. The Growth Capital game was different: both lenders participated in the Watsco $750 million revolving credit. The tracker standing broke that tie. JPMorgan moves to both the CRE and Growth Capital championships.
| Deal | Vertical | JPMorgan Role | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 350 Park Ave construction, NYC | CRE | Co-lead (with Wells Fargo) | $3.3B |
| Watsco revolving credit facility | GC | Joint lead arranger | $750M |
| Total disclosed | $4.05B |
The Lender Draft Semifinals
CRE: JPMorgan Chase vs. Bank of America
Semifinals, CRE: JPMorgan Chase vs. Bank of America Winner: JPMorgan Chase. Declared. Why: JPMorgan Chase co-led the $3.3 billion 350 Park Avenue construction loan in New York last week. Bank of America closed zero CRE deals. One deal versus none, and the deal is the largest single financing in this week’s package.
Growth Capital: JPMorgan Chase vs. Bank of America
Semifinals, GC: JPMorgan Chase vs. Bank of America Winner: JPMorgan Chase. Why: Both lenders participated in Watsco’s $750 million revolving credit facility as joint lead arrangers last week. Tied on deal count, tied on disclosed volume. JPMorgan Chase edged out due to their leading market share with 33 deals closed in the vertical this year, over Bank of America at rank 2 with 27 deals.
I’ll say what Bank of America did right here. As the administrative agent on Watsco, BofA holds the senior operational role in the credit, managing the borrower relationship and the lender group. That is not a small thing. But the bracket is the bracket, and JPMorgan came in with a stronger year-to-date track record in growth capital.
“Azuna has built a differentiated, fast-growing brand in a category where consumers have long been underserved by products that simply mask odors.” David Enright, Partner and Head of Direct Lending, Chicago Atlantic
That quote is from a separate GC deal last week, not from Watsco. Chicago Atlantic closed a $17.5 million term loan for Azuna, a home fragrance company, and Enright named a real market gap as the thesis. The discipline of lending into a category thesis rather than a company story is what I see in the better GC credits right now.
ABL: SLR Business Credit vs. Oxford Commercial Finance
Semifinals, ABL: SLR Business Credit vs. Oxford Commercial Finance Winner: SLR Business Credit. Declared. Why: SLR Business Credit closed one ABL deal last week, a $9 million factoring facility for Purecare. Oxford Commercial Finance closed zero. Declared winner.
This was the featured ABL game because the Purecare deal is the largest disclosed ABL deal in the vertical outside the Belk mega-facility. Of the active commercial lenders remaining in the ABL bracket, SLR sits at rank 13 going into the championship against SouthStar Capital at rank 1.
The Lender Draft Full Semifinals Results
| Vertical | Game | Lender A | Lender B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRE | Semifinal 1 | Societe Generale | Citigroup | Societe Generale |
| CRE | Semifinal 2 | JPMorgan Chase | Bank of America | JPMorgan Chase |
| GC | Semifinal 1 | JPMorgan Chase | Bank of America | JPMorgan Chase |
| GC | Semifinal 2 | MUFG | Citigroup | Citigroup |
| ABL | Semifinal 1 | SouthStar Capital | Sallyport Commercial Finance | SouthStar Capital |
| ABL | Semifinal 2 | SLR Business Credit | Oxford Commercial Finance | SLR Business Credit |
Rest of the scoreboard: CRE: Societe Generale. GC: Citigroup. ABL: SouthStar Capital.
Note on GC Semifinal 2: Neither MUFG nor Citigroup closed a Growth Capital deal last week. All available factors were reviewed. Citigroup carries documented OCC and Federal Reserve consent orders as ongoing structural headwinds, noted here as the main counterweight. With every factor reviewed and the field neutral on last week’s GC activity, Citigroup’s overall standing in our Growth Capital tracker carried it: 33 deals closed in the vertical, ahead of MUFG with 24.
Next Week: The Lender Draft Championships
| Vertical | Championship Matchup |
|---|---|
| CRE | Societe Generale vs. JPMorgan Chase |
| GC | JPMorgan Chase vs. Citigroup |
| ABL | SouthStar Capital vs. SLR Business Credit |
JPMorgan Chase is in two of the three championship matchups. If you are a borrower or broker trying to get in front of active commercial lenders right now, that context matters.
The Lender Draft Active Commercial Lenders That Moved
| Vertical | Lender | Rank | Coinciding Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRE | Barings | #22 (Up 6 from rank 28) | Speedway Commerce Center industrial refi $138.6M |
| CRE | BNP Paribas | #29 (Up 5 from rank 34) | Akaysha Energy BESS Australia $1.248B (International CRE) |
| ABL | Wells Fargo | # 11 (Up 7 from rank 18) | Belk $1.275B ABL revolver and FILO (agent) |
| ABL | Post Road Equipment Finance | #22 (Up 6 from rank 28) | No confirmed ABL deal this week; coinciding deal not identified |
| ABL | Siena Lending Group | #17 (Up 4 from rank 21) | $20M organic beverage revolving credit |
| GC | CIBC Bank USA | #29 (Up 5 from rank 34) | Channel revolving credit $135M |
| GC | ICBC | #17 (Up 4 from rank 21) | Huawei CNY 15B facility (International GC) |
Counts reflect closed financings announced October 13 to 19, 2026 and tracked by The Lender Draft. Amounts are as announced.
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