Wells Fargo Commercial Real Estate

Blankster:

It's suprising that you have an interview but don't know what the group does.

Anyway, that's their lending group. The group primarily does construction and bridge lending to investors, developers, and PE shops, but has been moving into the term space recently.

I have a friend in that program and he likes it enough. The group is structured differently than at other BBs. At WFB you go from Analsyt>Lender where you have your own clients, source deals, close deals, and manage your book after you've closed. Other banks have the roles seperated (e.g. Analyst/Portfolio Manager/Underwriter/Client Manager).

Sorry, didn't mean to imply I didn't know what the group did. I was looking more for progression and reputation which you answered nicely. Thanks.

theBEEGEES:

I have to pick my preference between the normal lending group and the managed assets group that handles the dispositions and foreclosures of their portfolio. Can anyone comment on the pros and cons of these two?

I can't speak extensively to the managed assets track (wells lingo=REMAG). I do know they have a little more flexibility in structuring the deals--by the time loans go to REMAG shit has already hit the fan. As such, the bank is trying to mitigate losses.

hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions. good luck with the interview.

Penn7690:

If you perform well in these CRE lending groups (for me, specifically Prudential's Mortgage Capital group), is it common to leverage this experience to gain employment at a mid-tier or name brand REPE firm?

Don't mean to hijack your thread BEEGEEs, but I thought this question was relevant to the thread.

I work in a lending group and we have had guys go to some strong REPE shops. I would say it depends a lot on what your group is like. We get a lot of exposure to some of the larger funds and thus make connections with those shops. I don't think that is the norm for most groups.

Is this for their CRE lending platform?

It seems like its mostly lending. I'm not exactly sure but, it seems like you get placed in a group (eg. commercial mortgage, hospitality finance, real estate banking group, etc.)

I work in te CRE lending group of another big bank. Most of the deals I have worked come down to us and WF. They certainly have the best platform in the industry right now (much more aggressive stance and tend to be able to get creative and out structure others).

The lending groups are very niche, but interesting. The groups seem to fall in between IBD and commercial banking in both terms of comp and hours.

Is there a particular business within CRE lending that tends to be more interesting like the ones that I listed above?

General commercial real estate will give you the best look into the industry. You'll get to work with all the major product types and can pick what you like from there. If you're working in something more specific such as hospitality or home builder you may not have as many options on the way out.

Bumping this. Does anyone know where people end up after they complete this program? Would this be a good first step for someone trying to move to the REPE or REAM business?

Bumping this as well. I would like to know the same.

Dude, it's HR. If you can't get past someone who has no clue about the industry, you stand no chance with the senior management team. Know your story, why you want to work for them, what you're looking for and be ready to discuss what type of experience you have. Sound confident. Good luck.

I just love that their acronym is FAP...

Beny23:

I just love that their acronym is FAP...

Haha I notice that too.

First round is behavioral with a few technicals like walk me through the financial statements and which one is most important regarding cre lending. It's more of a weed-out interview.

Second round is more technical like walk me through EBITDA, how do you analyze an office property, what are the most important metrics in real estate such as IRR, NPV, etc. They also ask about Excel skills, and if you have any modeling experience. Overall, the most important thing to know back to front are the 3 financial statements. Wells tends to favor accounting majors or candidates with intimate knowledge of accounting. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Which office are you interviewing for?

hyperlite89:

First round is behavioral with a few technicals like walk me through the financial statements and which one is most important regarding cre lending. It's more of a weed-out interview.

Second round is more technical like walk me through EBITDA, how do you analyze an office property, what are the most important metrics in real estate such as IRR, NPV, etc. They also ask about Excel skills, and if you have any modeling experience. Overall, the most important thing to know back to front are the 3 financial statements. Wells tends to favor accounting majors or candidates with intimate knowledge of accounting. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Which office are you interviewing for?

PM sent.

Bump - Interested as well, I have a second interview with the Global Banking Group. Any insight besides technical questions (EBITDA, link between financials, etc)? Will it be strictly technical?

fap fap fap fap fap

Was flown up to Boston for a final round interview for this position back in June. (They decided to hire a Senior analyst though as they didn't have time to train, or so they told me). A lot of it has to do with underwriting potential loans to their CRE clients.

If you've got questions related to the interview process shoot me a message.

Placed in an analyst pool, working on underwrting and monitoring property level debt as well as corporate lines for private firms. Has a bit of a commercial banking attitude, so not going to kill you with hours. Exits widely vary. I did two years in a smilar role with a different bank. PM me for more info.