Expanding its commercial banking operations to provide bespoke and customized fund-level financing to alternative asset managers and the private capital industry, EverBank (temporarily doing business as TIAA Bank) announced the launch of its new Fund Finance division under the leadership of industry veterans Jeff Johnston and Mike Mascia.
The new group is based in Charlotte, N.C., and will focus on supporting alternative asset managers and the private capital community's fund-level financing needs, including subscription credit facilities, NAV financing, hybrid facilities, management company lines and other customized credit, advisory and placement solutions. Mascia and Johnston will serve as co-leaders of the Fund Finance division.
The start of the Fund Finance business marks the first expansion milestone for EverBank. On August 1, TIAA announced the completion of the sale of TIAA Bank to private investors with extensive experience in financial services. The bank is temporarily going to market under the legacy TIAA Bank brand until early September, when it will fully convert to the new EverBank brand.
"We're focused on growth, innovation and supporting our private capital clients in this new chapter and building a fund finance vertical led by sought-after experts Jeff Johnston and Mike Mascia to support our long-term strategy," said Greg Seibly, EverBank's chief executive officer. "The addition of these successful leaders is exciting for the bank and reflects of our commitment to the greater private capital community."
Johnston, the division's co-leader, is widely regarded as one of the world's leading fund finance experts. He previously founded and led Wells Fargo's fund finance business and grew it into the world's largest global fund finance platform. He is also a co-founder and the current chairman of the Fund Finance Association, the industry group that advocates for and supports the global fund finance market.
Mascia, previously the chair of the Finance Practice and a management committee member at the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft, is credited with founding or co-founding many of the industry's key initiatives, including the Fund Finance Association, the annual Global Fund Finance Symposium (now in its 13th year), the Cadwalader Finance Forum, Fund Finance Friday and Fund Finance University. Mascia was also the contributing editor of five editions of the "Pink Book," the fund finance industry's legal treatise. Together, Johnston and Mascia bring more than 40 years of fund finance experience and unmatched transactional leadership to this new bank division.
"Jeff and I are thrilled to be part of EverBank and its leadership team," Mascia said. "From day one, leadership has demonstrated a strong understanding and commitment to the fund finance business."
"We're looking forward to supporting our key private equity relationships and helping them accomplish their goals," Johnston said. "The bank's platform and values put the client first, and those characteristics complement our long-term, relationship-based approach to fund finance. The existing commercial lending verticals at the bank are excellent and we look forward to complimenting them with truly unique offerings."