Finance Lending
SoCal Lender Kicks Off Another $100M Mortgage Pool Fund
Aug 28, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Los Angeles-based Wilshire Finance Partners has introduced Wilshire Income Fund II, its second real estate mortgage pool fund. The fund will raise $100 million to make commercial property loans. This time around, however, the company will be able to welcome investors and borrowers from beyond the borders of the State of California.

Wilshire Income Fund II, like the first vehicle, is designed to tap into a market hungry for alternative lending sources in the face of a credit crisis and diminishing property values. The fund consists of several well-underwritten trust deed loans; investors purchase shares of the fund, and money is made available to borrowers. Financing will be considered for a variety of real estate endeavors, from construction and rehabilitation to foreclosure acquisitions, involving a bevy of property types including industrial, mixed-use, multifamily, office and retail.

For investors' comfort, Wilshire Finance touts the diversified loan portfolio, as well as a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio and a 35 percent protective equity as means of limiting risk.

Wilshire Finance's first fund launched in June, offering short-term loans ranging from $500,000 to $3 million, and targeting annual returns of a minimum 10 percent. Among its activities was the furnishing of a $600 million bridge loan/second mortgage for the redevelopment of a retail/restaurant strip mall.


 
Recent Lending Headlines
dc hyatt American Realty Advisors Provides Equity for Grand Hyatt Washington Recapitalization
Nov. 21, 2008
American Realty Advisors has provided preferred equity financing to an affiliate of Quadrangle Development Corp. for the recapitalization of the Grand Hyatt Washington, D.C. The investment was executed on behalf of one of American’s separate account clients.
Financial Market Update-More Grim News on Employment Front
Nov. 20, 2008
Jobless claims are at their highest level in 16 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. For the week ended Nov. 15, initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were 542,000. The four-week moving average of new jobless claims also rose, from 490,750 last week to 506,500, which was the highest in 25 years.
Financial Market Update-Big 3 Continue to Angle for Aid
Nov. 19, 2008
The bosses of the Big Three automakers, who are facing the prospect of being bosses of the Not-So-Big-Three anymore, came before Congress today to beg, "Please, sir, can I have some more?" As in more loans to stay afloat, besides the $25 billion already committed to retool to build fuel-efficient cars.
$334M in Commercial Mortgages are Likely to Default, Bank of America Buys Stake in China Construction
Nov. 19, 2008
While Wall Street rebounded Tuesday in another turbulent session as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor's 500 index tested a 2003 low, the market for debt used to finance hotels, offices and shopping malls tumbled Tuesday on worries that the long-feared rise in defaults for commercial mortgage-backed securities had begun, possibly ushering in the next phase of the financial crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Boston Properties Closes $375M Financing of Four Embarcadero Center
Nov. 19, 2008
Using the proceeds to pay down its unsecured line of credit, Boston Properties Inc. has closed on an eight-year, $375 million loan secured by Four Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. The loan was provided by a syndicate of life insurance companies and bears interest at a fixed rate of 6.10 percent annum.
 

 

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