MARKET OUTLOOK, MORTGAGE AND LENDING
Affinius Capital | March 13, 2023
USAA Real Estate recently announced it has successfully consummated a decade-long partnership with Square Mile Capital after acquiring the balance of Square Mile Capital in 2021. The final integration of the investment management platforms would be under a new corporate brand, Affinius Capital®. The company will continue to offer strategic equity and debt capital, and it will continue to capitalize on the growing demand for structured credit, technology-driven real estate assets, and flexible deal structures while addressing the pressing need for rental housing solutions under the new corporate brand name Affinius Capital.
The same dedicated and diverse group of senior leaders will be operating Affinius Capital, using the disciplined approach as previously to invest and align interests that have made USAA Real Estate and Square Mile Capital successful. In addition, former Square Mile CEO Craig Solomon will now be the CIO and Vice Chairman of the new company.
Affinius Capital, with the original approach of the two integrated companies, will continue to put its clients and their interests first and ensure they align with its own goals. It will also continue to look for risk-adjusted returns that have a positive and measurable effect on society while keeping its multifaceted focus on creative and dynamic solutions that use technological advances in digital automation, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence. The company's headquarters will remain in San Antonio and New York, and regional experts will continue to operate in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul, and Washington, D.C.
About Affinius Capital
San Antonio, Texas-based Affinius Capital and affiliate companies invest across the risk spectrum for a client base worldwide, managing more than $35 billion within a diversified portfolio across Europe and North America as net assets under management. It offers strategic equity and debt capital to capitalize on the escalating demand for technology-driven real estate assets to meet the critical demands for housing solutions and other capital and market structure opportunities exhibiting convincing risk-return characteristics.
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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
ICSC | February 15, 2023
On February 14, 2023, ICSC, the member organization for industry advancement, announced its participation in an industry-wide alliance, The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium, to foster supplier diversity in the real estate industry. CREDS, comprised of seven real estate trade associations, aims to accommodate the rising demand from real estate firms for increased supply chain diversity and promotes the use of services provided by Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).
ICSC works with CREW Network, NAIOP, Nareit, the National Multifamily Housing Council, Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Real Estate Roundtable as a founding member of CREDS Consortium. In addition, the alliance has launched a pilot program of two years with the leading supplier management software platform SupplierGATEWAY to help their members with tracking, identifying, reporting, and engaging with MWBEs.
Members of ICSC can sign up for SupplierGATEWAY's software platform at a discounted price to search for, connect with, and even hire MWBE suppliers. Through the CREDS portal, they will also be able to post their purchase orders and have other opportunities to do business. During the pilot program, the Consortium wishes to learn more about trends in supplier diversity in the real estate industry.
Tom McGee, ICSC President & CEO, said, "ICSC is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the Marketplaces Industry and giving our members ways to identify and source MWBEs is one way we can do this." He also said, "The CREDS Consortium helps meet the growing demand for diversity in service providers and offers our members direct access to the tools and resources they need to support their own DEI goals. We are proud to be a founding member of the Consortium and look forward to working closely with the partner organizations to further this important initiative."
(Source: Business Wire)
About ICSC
Founded in 1957, ICSC is a member organization that works to improve the industry. It promotes and raises the status of the places where people shop, eat, work, play, and gather as important parts of communities and economies. It creates experiences that bring people together and make deals happen. It also fights hard to change public policy, creates high-impact marketing and public relations that change people's minds, gives professionals a solid foundation for success, and makes forward-thinking content with actionable insights that further drive growth in the industry.
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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, MORTGAGE AND LENDING
MeridianLink | March 03, 2023
On March 02, 2023, MeridianLink®, Inc., one the leading provider of modern software platforms for consumer reporting agencies and financial institutions, announced that it received two HousingWire 2023 Tech100 Mortgage Awards. MeridianLink’s selection as a winner was based on its innovative approach to bring flexibility and improve browser experience, speed and insight to mortgage origination. In addition, a MeridianLink® company, OpenClose™, was identified because its 100% browser-based, omnichannel solutions empower lenders to enhance efficiencies, improve margins, reduce costs, and advance experience quality. These award-winning capabilities provide financial institutions with the robust technology they need to improve the experiences for loan officers and borrowers and close more loans.
The Tech100 program, now in its eleventh year, offers housing professionals a comprehensive list of the most innovative and influential organizations that can be used to identify partners and provide solutions to the daily challenges mortgage lenders face. Every year, the Tech100 program improves progressively more competitively, and the quality of applicants improves as the industry’s demand for technology increases. In its fourth year, the Tech100 program was presented in two groups, including HW Tech100 Real Estate and HW Tech100 Mortgage, to highlight the achievements and innovation of organizations within both sectors.
Chris Maloof, President of Go To Market, MeridianLink®, said, “It is a privilege to be selected once again as a winner of HousingWire’s renowned Tech100 award, and we are thrilled that our industry-leading offerings represent such a large percentage of the true mortgage loan origination systems on this year’s list.” He also said, “As lending progresses toward an increasingly digital future, MeridianLink® and OpenClose™ will continue offering world-class digital experiences built on innovative solutions. We are proud to give our customers choices that connect them with the same technology they need to outshine the competition.”
(Source – Business Wire)
About MeridianLink®
Founded in 1998, MeridianLink® enables digital lending and account opening for financial institutions and provides consumer reporting agencies with data verification solutions. Its cloud-based, scalable platforms support customers to build deeper relationships with consumers via data-driven, personalized experiences throughout the lending life cycle. Its established industry leaders continue to set the industry standard for web-based credit reporting and all sizes of financial institutions. Based in Costa Mesa (California), MeridianLink® has prioritized the democratization of lending for customers, businesses, and communities specializing in loan origination, mortgage systems, loan software and banking software.
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