BREAKOUT SESSION: Private Credit Trends in CRE Lending

Hilary Branson Provinse

Executive Vice President, Production and Capital Markets, Berkadia

Hilary Provinse is Executive Vice President – Production and Capital Markets and a member of Berkadia’s Management Committee. In this role, Ms. Provinse oversees more than 380 experienced mortgage bankers, investment sales advisors and their teams located in more than 70 offices across the U.S. who serve clients across all multifamily and commercial real estate channels. Ms. Provinse manages Berkadia’s capital markets relationships and ensures that clients benefit from our market leadership and deep relationships with diverse capital sources, including Berkadia’s 31 life company correspondents, banks, CMBS, debt funds, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA / HUD. In 2024, Berkadia’s combined production volume exceeded $39 billion, of which $25 billion was attributed to the mortgage banking division. Berkadia was ranked the #1 Freddie Mac Lender by Volume and the #2 Fannie Mae DUS Lender by Volume in 2024. Previously, Ms. Provinse was SVP and Head of Customer Engagement at Fannie Mae, where she managed the team responsible for all of Fannie Mae’s production activities and customer relationships – overseeing more than $100 billion of production during her tenure. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2003, Ms. Provinse spent 10 years on Wall Street in investment banking, working for Goldman Sach and Co. and Bear Stearns and Co. Ms. Provinse has a Bachelor of Arts in history from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration in finance from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors (COMBOG), a board member of The Beach Company, Chair of the ULI Multifamily Green Council, and a member of the International Women’s Forum.

Kathleen F. Corton

Managing Partner and CEO, Saluda Grade

Kathy Corton is the Co-Head of Saluda Grade Commercial Real Estate (CRE) with over 30 years of leadership experience in the commercial real estate credit industry. Ms. Corton joined Saluda Grade in June 2025 following its acquisition of Hillcrest Finance, the firm she founded in 2013, where she continues to serve as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. At Hillcrest, she helped shape investment strategy and oversaw sourcing, origination, underwriting, and debt asset management. In addition to her role at Saluda Grade, Ms. Corton also serves as the co-managing partner for the legacy Hillcrest Finance LLC business; in that role she shares responsibility for Hillcrest portfolios and separate accounts. Before founding Hillcrest, Ms. Corton was Co-Owner of Brickman, a New York City–based, vertically integrated real estate equity and debt investment management firm. She also served as Executive Managing Director and Head of U.S. Real Estate Loan Originations at Nomura Asset Capital Corporation, where she led a team that originated over $12 billion in loans and managed the firm’s national intermediary relationships. Ms. Corton holds a B.A. in Economics and History from Georgetown University. She serves on the Board of Governors of the CRE Finance Council and chairs the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Private Credit Council.

Drew Fung

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Clarion Partners

Drew D. Fung, equity owner and Managing Director, is the Co-Portfolio Manager for Clarion’s Debt Investment Fund. He oversees the Firm’s debt investment activities in various types of commercial real estate debt instruments, including construction loans, mezzanine loans, B-notes and preferred equity interests. Drew is a member of the Debt Investment Committee, which approves all of the Firm’s financing activities. He joined Clarion in 2012 and has comprehensive commercial real estate experience, including more than 20 years focused on subordinate debt that includes all property types and capital structures. He is a former Chair of a Urban Land Institute (ULI) Urban Development/Mixed-Use Council, past member of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) Board of Governors, Co-Chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association Private Credit Finance Advisory Committee, a frequent speaker at industry events and has provided expert testimony to the U.S. Senate Banking Sub Committee regarding the impact of regulation on commercial real estate financing markets. Drew played a key role in the recently created NCREIF/CREFC Debt Fund Aggregate.

Patrick Mattson

Managing Director, KKR

Patrick Mattson (New York) joined KKR in 2015 and is the Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate Credit group and the President and Chief Operating Officer of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF). He is a member of the Real Estate Credit Investment Committee and Portfolio Management Committee. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Mattson was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management and led the mezzanine debt platform. Prior to Rialto, he was at Morgan Stanley for nine years and held various positions within the commercial real estate groups, most recently on the securitized products trading desk. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was at Deloitte and Touche focused on the firm's CMBS practice. Mr. Mattson received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a CFA charterholder. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Board of Governors.