Number 2 on the list was Midland Loan Services at $54.29 billion, followed by CapMark Services ($46.75 billion); Orix Real Estate Capital Markets ($38.90 billion); and First Union Securities ($38.88 billion).

While top-of-the-mark lenders will walk away from San Diego with a feather in their caps, so will the CMBS market as a whole. An afternoon press conference held here revealed that fourth-quarter volume for services in that niche rose to $230 billion. That's a 20.9% rise over the previous year.

Midland's Stacey M. Berger explained the difference in CMBS performance since the sector hit the doldrums a few years back. "In terms of alternate, fixed-income product," he said, "CMBS has performed better than benchmarked. It is the most liquid fixed-income product--with the exception of Treasuries."

In a presentation titled Capital Markets--What's New on the Horizon and Beyond, Lend Lease Investments research guru Jeanette I. Rice echoed the sector's strength. She explained that new CMBS issuances, while down slightly from a 1998 high of more than $70 billion, still posted a respectable $60 billion in '00.

Some good news is also generating from the recession, as this morning's keynoter, Tony Pierson of Cigna Investment Management, explained. "The boom is over," he proclaimed, but reminded the crowd that we are not yet in a textbook recession, which is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative GDP.

Nevertheless, he did suggest some investment measures that reflect a change in the value climate. "Office is past its prime," he said, noting that his operation's investment activities have put the office sector on the back burner in favor of industrial and multifamily, which are more immune to the vagaries of a soft economy than office.

Instant Insights /

MBA--Day 2: Industry Leaders Celebrate CMBS, Top Players; Discuss Prepping for Downturn

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