TIAA, Barings and CBRE Capital Markets were last year's top originators for pension funds, while HFF, CBRE Capital Markets and Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. were the leading originators for credit companies. For REITs, mortgage REITs and investment funds, the top originators were Capital One Financial, Eastdil and Meridian.

According to MBA's rankings, Mesa West Capital, JLL and Meridian Capital Group were the top originators for specialty finance. By dollar volume, the top five originators for third parties in '16 were HFF, Eastdil, CBRE Capital Markets, Meridian and Key Bank.

The year that ended Dec. 31 saw total volume of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt rise by $162 billion to $2.96 trillion, an increase of 5.8%. Of the four major investor classes, only CMBS and related instruments saw their holdings decline on a year-over-year basis, with a drop of $65.5 billion or 11%.

“Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew roughly in line with property values in 2016,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA's VP of commercial real estate research. “With property values up 8%, the amount of mortgage debt outstanding grew 6%. Looking just at multifamily properties, an 11% increase in property values was met with a 10% increase in mortgage debt.”

WASHINGTON, DC—Wells Fargo came in ahead of any other lender for total 2016 origination volumes in commercial real estate and multifamily lending, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. JP Morgan Chase & Co. also figured prominently in MBA's rankings, topping the list in two of the 11 categories reporting total originations by investor groups. Other top mortgage originators included HFF, Eastdil Secured, PNC Real Estate, CBRE Capital Markets, Key Bank, Meridian Capital Group, Capital One Financial Corp. and JLL.

The annual MBA study, Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Firms – Annual Origination Volumes, comes on the heels of the association's report that lenders finished the year strong, with three of the four investor classes increasing their holdings during the fourth quarter. MBA's origination volumes study covers more than 140 categories, including by role, by investor group, by property type, by financing structure type and by the location of the originating office.

Along with leading the overall ranking, Wells also topped the list of Fannie Mae originators, followed by Walker & Dunlop and CBRE Capital Markets; and the list of “other investor” originators, followed by HFF and Deutsche Bank Securities. JP Morgan was the top originator for both CMBS and commercial bank loans, followed by Deutsche Bank Securities and Eastdil for CMBS and by PNC and Key Bank for bank loans.

For life insurance companies, MetLife Real Estate, HFF and PGIM Real Estate were the top originators. CBRE Capital Markets, Berkadia and HFF led the rankings for Freddie Mac originations, while on the FHA/Ginnie Mae side, Berkadia, Greystone and Red Mortgage Capital comprised the top three.

TIAA, Barings and CBRE Capital Markets were last year's top originators for pension funds, while HFF, CBRE Capital Markets and Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. were the leading originators for credit companies. For REITs, mortgage REITs and investment funds, the top originators were Capital One Financial, Eastdil and Meridian.

According to MBA's rankings, Mesa West Capital, JLL and Meridian Capital Group were the top originators for specialty finance. By dollar volume, the top five originators for third parties in '16 were HFF, Eastdil, CBRE Capital Markets, Meridian and Key Bank.

The year that ended Dec. 31 saw total volume of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt rise by $162 billion to $2.96 trillion, an increase of 5.8%. Of the four major investor classes, only CMBS and related instruments saw their holdings decline on a year-over-year basis, with a drop of $65.5 billion or 11%.

“Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew roughly in line with property values in 2016,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA's VP of commercial real estate research. “With property values up 8%, the amount of mortgage debt outstanding grew 6%. Looking just at multifamily properties, an 11% increase in property values was met with a 10% increase in mortgage debt.”