Vishal Kumar, Managing Director on Värde Partners’ Real Estate team, joined Real Estate Capital Europe’s Alternative Lenders Roundtable to discuss the state of real estate financing across Europe and the opportunities for non-bank lenders.
Vishal identified two factors that he believes will play an outsized role over the next few years:
1. The development of a CRE CLO market in Europe, which is becoming an increasingly urgent priority. “That requires a certain volume of credit and a degree of standardization which is not yet there in Europe. But it will be needed to get debt off lenders’ books and bring the cost down for borrowers.”
2. Back leverage should play an increasingly pivotal role, allowing banks to take less risk while still retaining exposure, and simultaneously opening up opportunities for more nimble alternative lenders.
With the looming threat of increased U.S. tariffs as a backdrop, Vishal offered that a positive impact could be global capital that would otherwise flow towards the U.S. being redirected in Europe’s favor.