Really appreciate the info, thank you. What do most screening analysts transition to after a couple of years provided they still stay in the agency space? I would imagine underwriting may not be the best fit given the focus and exposure to production, is becoming a producer either at Wells or another GSE lender the most common path? 

 

Depends on the person, many go to underwriting, some go to origination and a few stay in screening. Others leave to go work at an investment company. There are plenty of opportunities in screening in the short to mid term as there is a lot to learn and the role gives good exposure to many parts of the business and deal process. In underwriting you see only a fraction of the deals that screening does and look at them much more closely, you also deal with all the hoops and red tape, most underwriters come from screening. Screening is interesting because it combines the credit mindset of underwriting with the fast paced and pursuit oriented nature of originations. Not everyone is cut out to be an originator nor has the desire, you also need to be asked to join an established originator/team or choose to go out on your own which can be very challenging. Many paths are open you just have to pick the one you want to pursue and work towards it.

 

Any opinions- positive or negative about Wells Fargo multifamily group? They are not a top 3 Freddie lender like CBRE or Berkadia, but they are in the top 10 by volume. If one is interested in the GSE/MF space, is this a decent place to be in? And what are pay bumps you can expect as you get promoted? What is the career progression here? Really appreciate it.

 

Would be good experience and helped me get to where I want to be. Wells isn't known to have the best culture but really depends on who you work with as with any company. Old screening manager was let go so team dynamics will be changing, some originators are chill others not, at this end of the day these deals are their livelihood so can be an emotional experience for them. Wells is still a top agency shop in overall volume as they do a ton of Fannie. Fannie stuff is actually much more involved on the lender side given DUS model as opposed to Freddie that re-underwrites all of the deals you send in. You will get to see plenty of deal flow and work on interesting deals. Going to depend on the office you are working in and the type of performer you are but top performers will get to work with the best of the best, the group head who founded the business many years ago before it was bought by Wachovia/Wells has deep roots in NYC real estate and knows all of the players. Not to be overlooked that Wells is the #1 CRE lender.

See comment above for career progression. $10-20K bumps with additional 15-20% bonus at each level.

 

Really appreciate the insights. Thank you. I am looking to be in the west coast (Carlsbad/SF/Irvine). In my previous experience with small satellite offices , sometimes you are treated as a second class citizen and folks in NY were always given priory when it comes to promotions and bonuses. What do you think about the west coast offices at Wells Multi family team in particular? Are the best originators in NY? My concern is that one day they will just shut down the satellite office  but that can never happen in NY. And last q- I get that this can be a high volume environment where you are sizing a new deal almost every day, so does that mean you are working till 7-8 PM most days? Or does this depend on the office/originator you cover and there can be an ebb and flow? 

 
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No problem. There are top producing teams in both Irvine and Carlsbad, although SF is the banks HQ there is not much of a screening presence there to my knowledge. Group is run out of NY so the NY relationships are run from there but the CA offices both work with top clients and are in the top 5 by volume each year. The big NY relationships are 'bank' relationships so even though you may not find the 'elite' relationships in other offices the clients are still massive and are direct relationships with an originator. Only reason an office would close is if the originators were to leave the bank but in that case you would likely be asked to join them, there are also underwriters and other functions in each office so even if the originators leave there is still a reason to keep the location open, especially since they are typically co-located with other Wells groups. I was not in NY and had plenty of opportunity in my time there to move up and be promoted, there was still a ton of interaction with NY and multiple trips there per year. The originator will not be your manager so you will travel to go see them or go to conferences, etc.

Hours depend on deal flow. Somedays are 3pm and others are 8pm. I never experienced having to chronically work long hours. Some originators work with a few borrowers that send in all of their business and have a high certainty of closing a deal so you will take a deeper dive on these. Other, typically newer or lower producing, will send any deal in to screening no matter the likelihood of close and you will do a lighter touch. The top originators tend to spend time on deals that will close. Sizing deals is the easy part and honestly doesn't take too long, it's the submissions to the agencies for formal quote that take a while, also getting a portfolio.

 

How does the org chart work here? I am in screening at my current bank as well, I do the sizings, help draft the term sheets and once we win the mandate, the underwriting team takes over. I pretty much work with all originators, my screening boss and head of production. I have very little contact with underwriters. At Wells, is it a similar structure where you have a specialized role and interact closely with a small group of people, it is my understanding that you have numerous screeners so you even have a specific group of originators you work for? At my current bank, it is just me and my screening manager that looks at all deals, but given the size of Wells and volume, I am thinking you must be having a bunk of screening analysts and managers overseeing their work? 

 

Thank you. How many screening analysts/managers are there though? At my current bank it is literally just two analysts and one manager and we work with all originators and we dont necessarily divide the work amongst us. Is it the same for you or do you have several analysts & managers  with each screening team covering separate group of originators. 

 

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