CBRE to Handle FDIC’s Portfolio of Owned Real Estate

CB Richard Ellis Inc. has netted a major client: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has tapped the services firm to serve as primary advisor for the residential and commercial real estate it acquires from failed financial institutions. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

CBRE will be tasked with the property management, leasing and ultimate disposition of these assets across the country, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. CBRE’s public institution and education solutions team, led by Theodore Carter, executive managing director in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, will oversee ongoing client services. Ken Pearson, a CBRE first vice president in Dallas, has been tapped as alliance director for the account, tasked with leading a national team of asset managers, property managers and marketing personnel to support day-to-day aspects.

The FDIC’s decision to leverage CBRE’s services “underscores the platform and the strength of the platform and the people that we [have], so it’s both an offer and a reaffirmation … [of what] we’ve been doing in terms of building and designing our business,” Pearson told CPN. “Because the FDIC doesn’t really know where or when or how many assets they’re going to have to deal with, one of the values that we brought to the table for them was the ability to handle any asset anywhere at any time.”

CBRE has selected Realogy Corp. as a lead subcontractor for the residential real estate segment, and RR Donnelley’s global real estate services division as the lead subcontractor for data management, reporting and inspection. CBRE has also identified other partners to handle FDIC’s needs. The news comes about a week after CPN reported that the FDIC is temporarily leasing 200,000 square feet of office space in Irvine, Calif., to handle receiverships and to liquidate assets from failed financial institutions primarily, in the Western United States.