Metlife originated over $9.6bn in commercial mortgage loans in 2012

MetLife Inc announced today that it originated, through its real estate investments department, over $9.6 billion in commercial mortgage loans in 2012. MetLife continues to be the largest portfolio lender in the insurance industry with $43.1 billion in commercial mortgages outstanding at year end 2012.

MetLife was a very active lender domestically and internationally in 2012, as we continued to focus on top quality properties in major markets, said Robert Merck, global head of MetLife Real Estate Investors. MetLife participated in a number of high-quality commercial mortgage transactions with loan sizes of $175 million and above during 2012.

Within its international portfolio, MetLife successfully grew its commercial mortgage lending activities in 2012, originating over $1 billion in the U.K., $191 million in Mexico and more than 33.6 billion yen for its Japanese local account.

In October 2012, MetLife reorganized its real estate arm to better manage its investments and the investments for its institutional investors and launched a third party asset management business within the real estate investments department. This enables the company to use its extensive experience in real estate to create investment opportunities that generate attractive, long-term returns for institutional investors.