What's Now in Real Estate Finance (July 2025)

Topics from our July agenda included:

Hospitality Finance Capabilities
Catherine Morgen (Atlanta) and Brian Butler (Atlanta)

With the recent addition of 22 lateral transactional attorneys, we explored the team’s expanded capabilities in hospitality finance. Members of the team bring significant experience advising owners and developers on hotel financings, including both single-asset and portfolio transactions. Their work encompasses a broad range of financing structures, such as balance sheet loans from banks, life companies, and debt funds, as well as participated, syndicated, and CMBS deals. They also have experience representing lenders in the hospitality sector, along with handling public-private partnership financings and transactions involving tax incentives like abatements and PILOTs.

“The Data Boom: Investment & Financing Strategies for Data Centers” CREFC Panel Recap 
(New York)

The data center market remains highly active, with new leases exceeding 500 megawatts and some approaching gigawatt scale. Development costs are substantial, with each megawatt estimated at $15–20 million. Strong relationships with local municipalities are critical, as trust is key to negotiating the site’s energy requirements. The market currently holds $18 billion in ABS loans and $6 billion in CMBS loans, with 2026 expected to be particularly active due to significant loan maturities. Additionally, five gigawatts of capacity are currently under construction.

FinCEN Actions Target Mexican Banks Involved in Cartel Laundering 
Jun Kwon (San Francisco)

FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under the US Treasury, recently designated three Mexico-based financial institutions as primary money laundering concerns under the Anti-Money Laundering Act: CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa. These institutions are alleged to have facilitated bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and transactions linked to drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.

As a result, US banks must terminate correspondent accounts for these institutions, report and wind down any existing exposure by early September, and strengthen anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance. While the action directly targets foreign banks, it underscores FinCEN’s expanding reach and the heightened compliance expectations for any transaction involving the US financial system.