A decade ago, Lisa Pendergast was serving in her role as head of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) strategy for financial giant Jefferies. At that time, however, familiar voices encouraged her to take a new career step. Pendergast, who by then could boast almost 30 years of experience in the capital markets, was encouraged to apply for the leadership of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), a trade organisation she had previously chaired. Despite her initial reluctance, as she loved her research work at Jefferies, her husband ultimately persuaded her to consider the opportunity.
Pendergast accepted the challenge and began her leadership position with the advocacy group for the CRE finance industry in September 2016 as Executive Director. Her positions changed to President and CEO in early 2025. Previously, she had served as Chairman of CREFC in 2010 and 2011 and as a member of the Board of Governors for more than nine years. On 3rd August, Pendergast will step down from her executive role after nearly ten years, during which she guided CREFC through numerous market cycles and challenges. The CREFC Board of Governors is currently searching for a successor.
Pendergast's succession will be no easy task given the progress made during her tenure, including a 30 per cent increase in membership. Under her leadership, the organisation established itself as an influential voice on a range of CRE issues in Washington, D.C., and beyond. In addition to her role at Jefferies, where Pendergast was consistently ranked as a top research analyst, she also held senior positions at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Prudential Securities.
Sam Chandan, Director of the Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at New York University, emphasised Lisa Pendergast's significance: she had been one of the most influential voices in commercial real estate finance for decades. He added that she had been the ideal choice to lead the organisation, and under her leadership, CREFC had evolved from an association primarily identified with CMBS into a premier forum for the entire spectrum of commercial real estate finance and capital markets.
The decade under Pendergast's leadership was marked by numerous challenges, particularly the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This led to great uncertainty in the CRE market and logistical difficulties for the organisation, which had to move its events to virtual formats. Even after returning to in-person events, such as the Miami conference in January 2022, CREFC faced new market uncertainties. These included Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the end of February and the Federal Reserve's subsequent aggressive interest rate hikes to combat inflation. These shifts in borrowing costs from their near-zero levels accelerated the distress of many property owners struggling with maturing debt, as many banks withdrew from lending.
Another hallmark of Pendergast's tenure was the strengthening of CREFC's advocacy in Washington. She engaged David McCarthy as head of legislative affairs and Sairah Burki as head of regulatory affairs. Both have successfully lobbied on Capitol Hill for the CRE finance industry on a range of issues. For example, CREFC successfully advocated for the removal of a provision from the final, bipartisan housing bill. This provision would have required institutional investors nationwide to sell build-to-rent single-family homes to individual buyers after seven years.
Another significant political success under Pendergast's leadership was the reduction of capital requirements for US banks as part of a revised Basel III proposal, published in March 2026. The new proposal lowered capital requirements for the largest banks by 4.8 per cent compared to current requirements. The original Basel III proposal from 2023 would have resulted in an average increase in capital requirements for the largest banks of 16 to 19 per cent compared to the current status. Pendergast stated that the outcome was considerably better than expected, as much stricter regulations had been anticipated, and it provides the banking industry with a better regulatory framework than it has had in a long time.
Uncertainty regarding Basel III, coupled with increased interest rates, led many banks to withdraw from CRE lending and accelerated the growth of debt funds – an area that Pendergast had focused CREFC on early. In 2023, she initiated the launch of a debt fund index in partnership with the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, to track market performance industry-wide and align transparency for debt funds more closely with that of CMBS. CREFC's reach among debt fund professionals also increased under Pendergast's leadership, with additional programmes including a forum for alternative lenders and high-yield investors held at the New York Athletic Club. Pendergast also collaborated with Chandan to establish the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate.
