CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—Wells Fargo & Company has established a finance group dedicated solely to public real-estate investment trusts in the commercial real-estate sector.
Rex Rudy, a managing director at Wells Fargo who heads the new group, said the REIT Finance Group consolidates the company’s national lending portfolio into a single coverage model.
“This shows a strong commitment to the industry, one in which we’ve been a strong factor and one in which we will continue to be a strong factor,” he said.
The finance group will provide corporate banking services, lines of credit, term loans and construction loans to REITs. Partnerships are also in place with Wells Fargo subsidiaries Eastdil Secured, which will provide real-estate banking services, and with Wells Fargo Securities, which will provide capital market services.
The group will be fully staffed by the end of this month with 17 or 18 people, Rudy said. Primary office locations will be in Charlotte, Chicago and Los Angeles
Wells Fargo has had an active presence within the hotel sector of late. In October alone, the company:
• Led a syndicate of banks in amending a credit agreement with blind-pool REIT Chesapeake Lodging Trust valued at between US$150 million and US$300 million.
• Providing US$142 million of debt, comprised of five mortgage loans, to RLJ Lodging Trust.
• Provided a US$10-million credit facility to Red Lion Hotels Corporation.
Rudy referred questions regarding how much debt will be made available to the hotel sector to fellow Wells Fargo executive Christopher Jordan. Jordan did not return a call for comment.
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