LADERA RANCH, CA—With so much capital currently available in the market today, some underwriters may be tempted to cut corners in order to stay competitive, Money360's Gary Bechtel tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, the firm has appointed Bechtel as president. We spoke exclusively with him about his new role and challenges in the mortgage-banking and lending sector today.

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals in your new role with Money360?

Bechtel: To make Money360 the number-one marketplace lender/preferred online financing source for both borrowers and investors in the commercial real estate finance industry. We will accomplish this by offering borrowers the ability to finance transactions under a variety of lending programs, including permanent, bridge and mezzanine loan structures. In addition to expanding our commercial real estate loan programs, we will continue to expand our technology platform, origination capabilities and back office personnel. This will allow us to offer a number of different investment opportunities to institutional and accredited investors.

GlobeSt.com: What do you see as the main challenges in mortgage banking and lending today?

Bechtel: With all the capital currently available in the market today, I think that we are seeing a softening of underwriting and due-diligence standards, similar to the end of the cycle in 2007-2008. While I believe most traditional lenders and mortgage bankers are continuing to maintain high underwriting standards, and Money360 is as well, some new entrants are not, which can put their end investors and borrowers at potential risk. This could ultimately lead to more stringent oversight of the commercial real estate finance industry, and the marketplace lending and crowdfunding industry in particular.

GlobeSt.com: Do you see underwriting standards for CRE growing more or less stringent as we progress through this cycle?

Bechtel: I believe they will become more stringent over time, if the current trend continues. As I previously indicated, I believe that most mortgage bankers and lenders are still utilizing appropriate underwriting standards. But unfortunately, we have seen some lenders relax their standards, which could ultimately impact the quality of those loans, put the end investors/borrowers at risk and potentially lead to increased oversight of the industry. This would in turn lead to more stringent underwriting standards in our industry.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about your company?

Bechtel: There are several things that I believe may be of interest to your readers. Money360, which was founded in 2010, was the first marketplace lender to focus on commercial real estate. What sets us apart in the market is that we focus on providing loans to borrowers who have income-producing commercial real estate properties on a nationwide basis. We work with borrowers who not only have a specific expertise in commercial real estate, but also have a substantial amount of equity capital to invest in a project (i.e., in a typical transaction, a borrower must make a down payment of anywhere from 25% to 40%, with the rest of the capital provided from Money360). Also, we have developed and continue to expand a sophisticated technology platform that allows us to offer high quality commercial real estate debt investment opportunities to institutional and accredited investors on a wide variety of asset classes at interest rates based on their risk tolerance. These investment opportunities are typically secured by a first-lien position on the real estate and are sourced on a nationwide basis, allowing investors to develop portfolios within Money360 that carry varying levels of risk on a diversified basis, both geographically as well as from an asset-class standpoint. Lastly, we have highly experienced commercial real estate underwriters, credit personnel and technology professionals who have been part of other successful organizations.