Founded in 1972 as a regional multifamily lender, CWCapital implemented a national lending platform strategy in 1991. In 2002, CW management partnered with The Caisse to acquire the stock of the company and dramatically expand operations, building a leading real estate lender and investment manager focused on high-yielding U.S. commercial real estate debt and investments. In accordance with that plan, the scope and reach of CW has grown significantly over the past several years and the company is now a recognized leader in the commercial real estate industry.
CWCapital Investments (CWCI) was established in 2003 to provide investment management services relating to multiple high-yield debt instruments and has since emerged as an industry leader across products, including mezzanine debt, B-notes, structured bridge loans, subordinate classes of CMBS and CDOs. On behalf of our parent and partner, The Caisse and its affiliates, CWCI is an active buyer of subordinate CMBS. In fact, we were the second largest new issue B Piece buyer in 2004 and 2005. Since 2003, our capital markets team has also utilized innovative technology to create the Cobalt series of CDOs - each distinct and extremely attractive to the investment market given CW’s differentiated capability to originate its own product - establishing a proven track record of investing in high-yielding, structured debt. CWCI is staffed with an experienced surveillance and portfolio management team dedicated to monitoring the performance of the investments and providing risk analytics.
In 2005, CWCapital Asset Management (CWCAM) was established to administer the special servicing operations for investments managed by CWCI. Through The Caisse's acquisition of Allied Capital’s commercial real estate investment platform, and CRIIMI MAE, a publicly traded mortgage REIT, CWCAM became one of the largest special servicers in the United States.