METLIFE ORIGINATES MORE THAN $11 BILLION IN COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES IN 2011
New York, NY - February 27, 2012
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced today that it originated, through its Real Estate Investments Department, over $11 billion in commercial mortgage loans in 2011, exceeding the more than $8 billion the company originated in 2010, and making it the company’s largest production year ever. MetLife continues to be the largest portfolio lender in the insurance industry, with $40 billion in commercial mortgage loans outstanding.
“MetLife has built its commercial real estate lending business on key guiding principles, which enabled us to strategically navigate through the economic downturn during the past few years and remain an active lender in the market,” said Robert Merck, senior managing director and global head of real estate investments for MetLife. “Our commitment to prudent risk management and our long-term investment approach has allowed us to take advantage of attractive opportunities in the U.S. and internationally, and we will continue to focus on top quality properties in major markets in 2012. MetLife’s success is a testament to our speed of execution, ability to do large transactions and superior customer service.”
To reach its record commercial mortgage lending volume, MetLife Real Estate Investments completed a number of high-quality real estate transactions with loan sizes of $200 million and above, including: $350 million on 1540 Broadway, an office building in Manhattan; $255 million on 155 North Wacker, an office building in Chicago; $360 million on Park Meadows in Denver and a $325 million loan on International Plaza in Tampa, both super-regional malls.
MetLife also led a renewed effort among major life insurance companies to work together to “club” large, high-quality loans on several properties, including: 601 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan; 555 California in San Francisco; and Natick Mall in Boston.
“Capitalizing on the strength of the MetLife lending platform, we were able to originate a significant number of larger loans on trophy office buildings and dominant regional malls in the U.S.,” said Mark Wilsmann, managing director and head of MetLife’s mortgage lending group.
“We were able to originate top quality loans at yields that provided a pick-up of more than 100 basis points over comparable risk corporate bonds, adding long-term value to our investment portfolio,” Wilsmann said.
Outside the U.S., MetLife grew its lending activities in 2011, originating more than $600 million in mortgages in Mexico and nearly $800 million in London. MetLife is also an active lender in Japan, with more than 36 billion yen in lending in 2011.
“In 2012, we expect that MetLife will continue to take advantage of its market-leading position among portfolio lenders to expand its commercial mortgage activity globally through our regional offices in London, Mexico City and Tokyo,” said Merck. “We are particularly attracted by the market opportunity in the U.K., where very favorable conditions continue for lenders like MetLife.”
“MetLife has been in the real estate lending business for over 100 years and we manage our business with a long-term perspective,” continued Merck. “We highly value our customers, clients and intermediaries. In originating loans, we are a relationship lender; year in and year out, more than 85% of our volume is repeat business. We are proud that our clients keep coming back to us, confident in the knowledge that we can provide them with the debt capital sources they seek,” said Merck. “We have an outstanding franchise and are looking forward to continued growth in all of our markets in the coming year".
MetLife’s investment focus includes office, multi-family, industrial and retail properties in top metropolitan markets. The company had a $40 billion commercial mortgage portfolio as of December 31, 2011.
MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
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