MOORPARK, CA—PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.has established a new division, PennyMac Commercial RealEstate Finance (PCREF). The business will focus on loansthat finance multifamily and other commercial real estate with atypical value of under $10 million, with theplanned acquisition and securitization of such loans byPennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust.

“I am excited about our entry into Commercial Real EstateFinance which complements PennyMac's existing businesses inresidential mortgages and has the potential to deliver attractivereturns for PFSI and PMT. The opportunity in this market isparticularly attractive and fits well with the operational platformand organizational culture that distinguish PennyMac,” saidStanford Kurland, PennyMac Financial's chairmanand CEO. “We have hired a dynamic team of highly experiencedcommercial mortgage bankers to lead this new initiative, and I ampleased to announce that Steve Skolnik, Kevin Portnoy and BobRoades have joined the PennyMac team.”

Steve Skolnik joins us as chief commerciallending officer, and was most recently the CEO and Co-Founder ofReadyCap Commercial, LLC. Kevin Portnoy is joining as ExecutiveVice President, Commercial Lending, from Capital Crossing, LLCwhere he was Director of Capital Markets. Skolnik, KevinPortnoy, and Bob Roades previously workedtogether at Aurora Bank/Lehman Brothers,originating, securitizing and servicing small balance commercialloans.