Tom Dennard, Chairman and CEO of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, announces his retirement, effective September 30, 2019, after 19 years of dedicated service to BB&T’s commercial real estate banking platform. Matt Rocco will assume the leadership of Grandbridge as President and CEO.

Dennard began his BB&T career with Laureate Capital, where he served as President and CEO. He was instrumental in the creation of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC, when BB&T (Laureate Capital) acquired Collateral Real Estate Capital. With over 41 years of dedicated service to the CRE industry, Dennard has dedicated his career to developing strategic partnerships with commercial real estate owners and debt capital providers in solving their debt capital solutions.

Under Dennard’s leadership Grandbridge has evolved into a nationwide, full service capital provider, servicer and asset manager for commercial and multifamily real estate assets. With 21 origination and servicing offices in 16 states and the District of Columbia, Grandbridge today offers agency, life company, third party, and direct financing to commercial property developers and owners while servicing more than $29 billion in commercial real estate assets.

Dennard serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) where he also served as past chairman of MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors (COMBOG). In 2018 he was honored with the MBA’s 2018 Commercial Real Estate Finance Distinguished Service Award.

Rocco has more than 21 years’ experience in the commercial real estate industry. Rocco is supported by Grandbridge’s strong leadership team including Joe Lovell, Chief Operating Officer, John Randal, National Production Manager, Jon Boone, Head of Asset Management, and BB&T Real Estate Funding’s Gordon White, Managing Director.

About Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estate loans; services loan portfolios; and provides asset and portfolio management through its broad investor base that includes insurance companies, CMBS investors, pension fund advisors, commercial banks and capital markets investors, as well as its proprietary lending platform, BB&T Real Estate Funding. The company is a Freddie OptigoSM lender, a Fannie Mae DUS® lender and an approved FHA MAP and LEAN healthcare lender.

With a current servicing portfolio of $29.5 billion, Grandbridge, an S&P strong rated servicer, services loan portfolios and provides asset and portfolio management nationwide for all capital providers including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, insurance companies, banks and more than 250 securitizations. More information about Grandbridge and its full line of products and services is available at Grandbridge.com.

About BB&T

BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $227.7 billion in assets and market capitalization of approximately $35.6 billion as of March 31, 2019. Building on a long tradition of excellence in community banking, BB&T offers a wide range of financial services including retail and commercial banking, investments, insurance, wealth management, asset management, mortgage, corporate banking, capital markets and specialized lending. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., BB&T operates more than 1,800 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at BBT.com.