Wells Fargo & Company announced that Henry Jordan, the chairman and chief executive officer of Wells Fargo Capital Finance, will retire on December 31, 2016. Following Jordan’s retirement, Wells Fargo Capital Finance will join Wells Fargo Commercial Capital, formerly known as Specialized Lending and Investment (SLI), led by Executive Vice President Ed Blakey. Guy Fuchs will become head of Wells Fargo Capital Finance and will report to Blakey.
Wells Fargo Commercial Capital
The newly-formed Wells Fargo Commercial Capital group combines Wells Fargo’s asset-based lending businesses to create a streamlined approach for customers incorporating their company’s assets into flexible financing solutions. In addition, Wells Fargo Commercial Capital brings together the recently acquired GE Capital CDF and Vendor Finance businesses and Direct Lending portfolio. Wells Fargo Commercial Capital, with approximately $252 billion in commitments as of 10/3/2016, includes Capital Finance, Equipment Finance, Asset Backed Finance and Corporate Trust.
“I’m very excited to lead this newly formed group and bring these successful businesses together,” said Blakey. “Capital Finance has a strong management team in place and I look forward to working with them to ensure we continue to provide outstanding value to our customers, and look for ways to deepen those relationships.”
Blakey, head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital and a 32-year veteran of Wells Fargo, reports to Perry Pelos, head of Wholesale Banking, and has held a number of senior leadership positions in commercial real estate, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and permanent-debt lending. With a strong commitment to the community, Blakey has served as a board member for the United Way of the Bay Area and actively supports a number of community-oriented organizations. He graduated from Columbia Christian College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate
In addition to the formation of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital, specialized commercial real estate businesses, under the former SLI group, will move into the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) group led by Executive Vice President Mark Myers. These businesses include Multifamily Capital, Community Lending and Investment, and Structured Real Estate, which is comprised of CMBS originations, CMBS and CRE collateralized loan obligation securitization, commercial mortgage servicing, asset management and commercial real estate loan and security repo finance. Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate group is the largest in the industry - #1 domestically in terms of annual originations, servicing, and market share - and total commitments for the combined CRE businesses of approximately $167 billion as of 10/3/2016.
“Combining these core commercial real estate businesses simplifies and enhances the customer experience and allows our commercial real estate platform to broaden its reach and deepen customer relationships,” said Myers. “I look forward to leading this newly-formed single Commercial Real Estate business as we continue to grow our platform.”
Myers, a 34-year veteran of Wells Fargo who also reports to Pelos, has held a number of senior leadership positions in the real estate, corporate, capital markets and special situation groups. He currently serves on the boards of trustees for the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute, is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, and is on the Policy Advisory Board Executive Committee of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at the University of California.