Fannie Mae Makes BIG Addition To Network Of DUS Lenders
Says adding Basis Investment Group subsidiary advances its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Basis Investment Group (BIG) is the only female minority-owned mortgage bank and lender of its size.
- Basis is the 24th organization approved as a DUS lender.
Fannie Mae said Monday it has added Basis Multifamily Finance I LLC to its network of approved Multifamily Delegated Underwriting & Servicing (DUS) lenders.
Basis is a subsidiary of Basis Investment Group LLC, a national commercial real estate investment platform based in New York that is a certified Minority- and Women-Owned Business.
The government-sponsored enterprise said adding Basis supports Fannie Mae’s efforts to ensure liquidity in the multifamily market, and reflects its ongoing commitment to fostering economic inclusion.
Basis Investment Group (BIG) is the only female minority-owned mortgage bank and lender of its size, Fannie Mae said. BIG is authorized to begin underwriting Fannie Mae Multifamily loans immediately.
BIG is a diversified commercial real estate investment platform operating throughout the United States, with representation in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Tampa, and Irvine, Calif. Basis has closed over $5 billion in transactions across multiple strategies and asset classes, focusing primarily on investments in the U.S. middle market.
Since its inception in 2009, BIG has demonstrated a commitment to enacting and empowering change while embedding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into its business and investment decisions. BIG has implemented increased due diligence, risk analysis, and ESG reporting processes to provide greater transparency for all of its clients and stakeholders, further solidifying the company as a forward-looking change agent within the industry, Fannie Mae said.
"Fannie Mae prides itself as an industry leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we're constantly seeking new opportunities for diverse suppliers, vendors, and business partners," said Michele Evans, executive vice president and head of Multifamily at Fannie Mae. "Basis Investment Group is one of the only African American, female majority-owned and -led commercial real estate investment firms in the United States, and they have the right experience, management team, and business strategy to accelerate our efforts to drive equitable access to rental housing across the country.”
Evans added that Basis is “uniquely positioned to provide Fannie Mae with increased access to diverse networks and borrowers outside of our current DUS lender network."
Fannie Mae said it is committed to advancing a stronger, fairer, and more sustainable housing finance system for renters, homeowners, and industry participants. Adding Basis as a DUS lender is a natural progression in Fannie Mae's work to knock down barriers and make quality rental housing and affordable mortgage credit more accessible and inclusive, it said.
"We are excited about our partnership with Fannie Mae; this approval is transformational for Basis," said Tammy K. Jones, BIG CEO and founder. "We continue to build our multifamily platform and, as a DUS lender, we can significantly add to the financing solutions that we offer to the market."
For over 30 years, Fannie Mae Multifamily has been a source of mortgage capital for the secondary mortgage market. The DUS model is the premier financing platform in the multifamily market, with delegation, risk-sharing, and life-of-loan servicing forming the pillars that support the platform, Fannie Mae said.
DUS lenders must abide by rigorous credit and underwriting criteria and submit to Fannie Mae's ongoing credit review and monitoring. The group of approved lenders may underwrite, close, and deliver loans on multifamily properties to Fannie Mae, and typically retain one-third of the risk on every loan.
Basis is the 24th organization approved as a DUS lender. In addition to Basis, Fannie Mae's DUS approved lenders are:
- Arbor Commercial Funding LLC;
- Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC;
- Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC;
- Capital One, National Association;
- CBRE Multifamily Capital Inc.;
- Citi Community Capital;
- Colliers Mortgage LLC;
- Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC;
- Greystone Servicing Co. LLC;
- HomeStreet Bank;
- JLL Real Estate Capital LLC;
- JPMorgan Chase Bank;
- KeyBank National Association;
- Lument;
- M&T Realty Capital Corp.;
- Newmark;
- Newpoint Real Estate Capital LLC;
- Northmarq;
- PGIM Real Estate;
- PNC Real Estate;
- Regions;
- Walker & Dunlop, LLC; and
- Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital.