IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate, part of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), has expanded its lending and banking capabilities in the Manufactured Home Communities (MHC) sector and hired two industry veterans. The additional capabilities are the result of Wells Fargo’s recent acquisition of a $9 billion portfolio of commercial real estate loans from GE Capital Real Estate, a portion of which is MHC-focused. Two GE Capital Real Estate industry veterans, Lew Grace and Matt Krasinski, have joined Wells Fargo to oversee MHC lending and client coverage for the Commercial Real Estate group.
“Expanding our balance sheet lending in this sector, combined with Wells Fargo’s existing product capabilities, provides a full-spectrum of solutions for customers in the manufactured home communities industry,” said Mark Myers, head of Commercial Real Estate at Wells Fargo. “We look forward to adding Lew’s and Matt’s industry experience to serve our customers in this important and growing segment of the market.”
“The expertise that Lew and Matt bring to our platform will further enhance our existing Agency and CMBS activities in the Manufactured Home Communities sector,” added Ed Blakey, head of Specialized Lending and Investment at Wells Fargo.
Grace joins Wells Fargo with nearly 30 years of commercial real estate experience. Previously, he held various roles at GE Capital Real Estate, most recently serving as head of the MHC lending and investment platform, which he helped to establish and grow from $100 million to $1.8 billion. Grace’s other roles at GE Capital included district manager for Southern California, where he led a team that originated loans for all commercial property types, and prior to that, an asset manager responsible for overseeing a $500 million portfolio of commercial properties. Grace holds a CPA license and earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration from Illinois State University.
Krasinski most recently served as an associate director for North America lending for GE Capital Real Estate, where he was responsible for loan originations focusing on MHC and recreational vehicle resorts. Prior to that, Krasinski served as a senior asset management analyst where he managed a debt and equity portfolio of more than 120 properties, representing more than $2 billion of asset value across all major real estate assets. Krasinski holds his Bachelor of Science from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
About Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate
Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate group provides a comprehensive set of banking and financing solutions to experienced owners, operators and developers, real estate investment funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate group is part of a broad integrated platform that includes lending, syndications, debt placement, equity raising and underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, and a servicing platform. For more information about Wells Fargo’s commercial real estate platform visit: www.wellsfargo.com/realestate.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.