New survey charts change in international lending patterns

A new survey on real estate financing has revealed a growing preference for seeking lending against a diversified portfolio.

Single-asset lending without recourse to a holding company is no longer the only desirable funding strategy, according to the survey conducted by ING Real Estate Finance and Nyenrode Business University.

‘It was a pleasant surprise to me as a banker involved in property finance for the last five years,’ Jan-Evert Post, member of the global management team of ING Real Estate Finance said on the second day of Expo Real. ‘It has always struck me that with single-asset financing you typically get optimal conditions for each and every asset from a borrower’s prospective. But managing all these loans on a stand-alone basis must be a bit of a headache.’

The survey was carried out among 30 ING clients considered experts in the European listed and institutional real estate sector. The survey has been conducted in the Netherlands for several years but this is the first time it was held on an international basis.

A second finding is the increased use of syndication and sourcing from non-bank lenders. ‘What comes out of the research is that many borrowers don’t know the way to the non-bank lenders and need a bank as mediator,’ Post said. 'The respondents also highlighted the importance of local expertise and local relationships ‘that work both ways.'

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