BancAlliance Enters Health Care Real Estate Lending Business

BancAlliance has started offering financing for health care real estate.

The Chevy Chase, Md., network completed two loans totaling $40 million that were secured by long-term care facilities in California and Ohio, BancAlliance said Thursday. The health care real estate finance market includes loans to a range of owners primarily in the health care services industry, with transactions secured by related property.

Doug Esposito, a BancAlliance managing director, is leading the effort. He has more than 18 years of experience in health care financing and was previously employed by Fortress Investment Group, a global investment manager, and CapitalSource (CSE), a national middle-market lender.

"Health care real estate financing was a logical next step in the ongoing expansion of our lending platform and member services," Lori Bettinger, the cooperative's president, said in a press release. "The market offers a large volume of well collateralized loans with attractive yields in an environment that is conducive to loan syndication. Moreover, the growing demand for health care fueled by aging baby boomers and increasing longevity help mitigate some of the economic forces that impact traditional commercial real estate."

Several banks, including Regions Financial (RF), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) and KeyCorp (KEY), have turned to the health care sector as a way to diversify loan portfolios.

BancAlliance is a shared corporate and specialty lending platform that identifies and refers loans to its community bank members.

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