US investment bank Bear Stearns is to enter the UK commercial property lending market.
Scott Dickens, a managing director in Bear Stearns Asset Backed Financing team, said it would use a securitised conduit.
BS will lend to projects and, once a loan portfolio of £300m-£500m had been achieved, securitise them, he said.
Cash from the bond issue can be re-lent then securitised again.
Morgan Stanleys pioneer European Loan Conduit has issued £4bn of bonds since 1998.
Bear Stearns is the seventh-largest US investment bank by market capitalisation ($31bn). It has more than $180bn of assets under management.
Bear Stearns move follows that of GMAC, the worlds biggest lender, which is also looking to exploit the UK commercial mortgage-backed securities market, seen as less sophisticated than in the US.
GMAC is looking to recruit a 12-strong team and last month poached three people from Bank of Scotland.
Although a new entrant to the market here, BS has been active in the US commercial mortgage-backed securities market, as lead or co-manager, bookrunner and loan originator.
Earlier this year it began work on a $500m securitisation, its first backed by a pool of large mortgages to multiple borrowers.
Dickens said: “We are looking to recruit a small team, two to three people to originate the loans.” He said lending would get under way within the “next few months”.
EGi News 22/07/02
