Arbor Expands CMBS Lending Platform with Appointment of Three Industry Veterans

Uniondale, N.Y.—Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC announced the second phase expansion and development of its CMBS and Syndication platform with the addition of three industry veterans, Barbara Duka, Peter S. Ginsberg and Richard Bianchi, who have each been appointed senior vice presidentin Arbor’s New York City office.

Barbara Duka joins Arbor as a senior vice presidentof CMBS and Syndication Credit. Duka will work closely with Hirsch in driving the expansion of the CMBS business at Arbor. Duka will play a leading role in the credit approval process, the structuring and pricing of loans and the execution of the loans.

Prior to joining Arbor, Duka held several key analytical and management positions during her 14-year tenure at Standard & Poor’s, where she oversaw the initial rating and the ongoing surveillance of commercial real estate-backed securities in the United States and Canada, the development of quantitative tools to track and analyze credit risk and the publishing of research and performance data on the sector. Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s, she held several credit, origination and asset management roles during her nine-year tenure at United Jersey Bank. Duka holds a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University.

Peter S. Ginsberg joins Arbor as a Senior vice president of CMBS Origination and Syndication. In his role, Ginsberg will oversee the operational management for both businesses and be responsible for building out a market-leading loan syndication platform.

Prior to joining Arbor, Ginsberg was most recently an executive managing director at Arcturus, a boutique, real estate advisory firm. Prior to Arcturus, Ginsberg was a managing director at Centerbridge Partners LP, where he co-managed the commercial real estate platform and was a member of the commercial real estate investment committee. Prior to Centerbridge, Ginsberg was a managing director at Capital Trust, where he was an integral part of senior management, directing strategic planning and investments. During his tenure at Capital Trust, Ginsberg obtained the Special Servicer rating from all three rating agencies for the firm and was instrumental in the structure and design of the special servicing platform. At Capital Trust, Ginsberg also originated and managed more than 250 transactions totaling more than $3 billion. He also has extensive experience in developing and negotiating strategies in connection with loan restructurings, property operations as well as structured finance acquisitions, strategies and workouts. He graduated with honors and received both a B.A. and J.D. from Northwestern University.

Richard Bianchi joins Arbor as senior vice president of CMBS loan originations and will be responsible for assisting in the growth of a direct CMBS commercial real estate lending practice at Arbor.

Prior to joining Arbor, Bianchi most recently served as vice president of loan originations at Oritani Bank, where he originated fixed-rate loans across all asset classes in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Prior to Oritani Bank, Bianchi served for 12 years as senior vice president, Principal Finance Group at Capmark Finance. While there he was responsible for nationwide originations of CMBS and structured finance loans across all commercial real estate asset classes. Bianchi received his B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University.

Additionally, Arbor has also appointed Joseph Charneski to its CMBS business unit in order to enhance the integration of CMBS and Syndication into the existing Arbor loan product infrastructure. Charneski joined Arbor in June 2008 as a Fannie Mae DUS® Multifamily underwriter and most recently served as Vice President of Sales Operations. He is now responsible for coordinating bridge and CMBS national production. He is based in Arbor’s New York City office.

Prior to joining Arbor, Charneski served as vice president, loan originations at CBRE Realty Finance, where he originated fixed and floating rate whole loans, B-Notes and mezzanine loans across all asset classes. He holds a B.A. in Real Estate and Urban Economics from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from Western New England College.

Duka and Ginsberg will report directly to Hirsch, and Bianchi and Charneski will report directly to Ginsberg.