KeyBank Real Estate Capital, the commercial real estate business unit of KeyCorp, has announced that it has entered into a series of agreements that will substantially increase its commercial mortgage servicing business. Under the terms of an agreement with Bank of America, KeyBank has agreed to purchase certain commercial mortgage servicing rights from Bank of America. As of March 31, 2013, Bank of America had a total commercial mortgage servicing portfolio of approximately $110.5 billion. The transaction also includes a CMBS special servicing portfolio of about $14 billion."This acquisition helps to ensure that Key is well-positioned for growth, and represents our willingness to invest in our Corporate Bank business," said Chairman and CEO Beth E. Mooney. KeyBank will purchase substantially all of the third party CMBS and special servicing rights from Bank of America's Global Mortgages & Securitized Products business. This portfolio also includes servicing for a variety of private investors, subject to investor consent. Upon completion of this transaction, KeyBank's commercial mortgage servicing portfolio will be among the top three largest named servicers of commercial/multifamily loans in the U.S., with a servicing portfolio of approximately $205 billion. Simultaneously, KeyBank has entered into a long-term sub-servicing agreement with Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC. Under this agreement, Berkadia will act as sub-servicer on all CMBS primary servicing acquired from Bank of America. In connection with this agreement, KeyBank has also agreed to acquire Berkadia's CMBS special servicing business. After closing the agreements with Bank of America and Berkadia, Key will be named special servicer on approximately $47 billion of CMBS, making Key the fifth largest CMBS special servicer."Acquiring these portfolios allows us to further leverage our highly-rated servicing platform," said Marty O'Connor, executive vice president and head of KeyBank Real Estate Capital Loan Servicing and Asset Management. "Our existing partnership with Berkadia will allow us to quickly integrate the Bank of America portfolios."
