iStar, a publicly traded company that is taxed as a real estate investment trust, provides structured real estate financing including senior and junior mortgage debt, corporate and mezzanine lending and corporate net lease financing.

Factors influencing this upgrade include the experience of iStar's management team, its loan diversification by geography and tenant mix, the variety of products it offers, its disciplined asset management and servicing systems and its liquidity of approximately $1 billion. Areas that offer opportunities for improvement include a reduction of secured debt and creating a market position in complex property finance for itself. Its opportunistic growth strategy, limited financial flexibility due to an encumbered asset base and exposure to large single transactions are considered negatives by the rating agency.

Based here, iStar has assets of approximately $4.1 billion (book value) and equity of $1.8 billion.