Countrywide's Joseph George

This interview originally appeared in Debt & Equity Journal. Erika Morphy is editor.

It’s no secret the real estate markets have been absorbing unprecedented levels of liquidity during the past few years. Just about every lender has his or her own personal story about deals that stretched the limits or pushed boundaries previously held sacrosanct. Joseph George is no exception. George is a senior vice president with Calabasas, CA-based Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance, an aggressive commercial lender. For a competitive transaction, he says, the institution will lend all the way up the capital structure. Overall, the lending environment is still healthy for financiers, he reports, but the liquidity continues to prompt borrowers to raise leverage to increasingly greater levels. George spoke recently about some of the latest manifestations of this ongoing trend in the office sector.

Q: What are borrowers asking for–and getting–these days?