Last fall, Paul Vanderslice, a Citigroup veteran and former Cantor Commercial Real Estate executive led the formation of a new CMBS securitization platform, BMO Capital Markets. BMO, the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of Montreal, has built out a “first-rate” commercial mortgage-backed securities team that will complement its sales and trading franchise.
With the platform in operation post-pandemic, the firm is adding a highly regarded CMBS professional to the team. Senior originator Michael Birajiclian has left Credit Suisse for BMO, where he started March 15 as a managing director in New York. Birajiclian, an attorney, joined the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of Montreal as head of transaction management and closings.
“I have known Mike for over 20 years, since he first started his career in the CMBS market at ValueXpress in 1999,” said Michel Sneden, Executive Vice President of ValueXpress. “As a freshly-minted attorney, Mike was passionate about learning everything related to the origination and closing of CMBS loans. Mike’s engaging personality, still evident today, was well received by our clients during his years at ValueXpress. I fully expect that ValueXpress, Mike and BMO will have a fruitful relationship in the post-pandemic CMBS world.”
Along with Mike, UBS Managing Director David Schell left to join BMO. He will start in early summer as a managing director in the commercial MBS group, Schell’s responsibilities as a senior member of that team will include originating and structuring transactions. He was head of real estate capital markets at UBS.