Meridian Capital Names New CEO Amid Fannie, Freddie 'Blacklist'

Debt brokerage giant Meridian Capital Group has replaced its CEO with a former financial regulator amid a controversy over loans it has arranged in recent years. 

Brian Brooks has been named Meridian Capital's new chairman and CEO, the New York-based firm announced Tuesday. Brooks served as acting U.S. comptroller of the currency after holding several roles at Fannie Mae, including general counsel and corporate secretary. He also served on Fannie Mae’s board of directors and its risk committee.

Brooks will replace Meridian founder and CEO Ralph Herzka in mid-April, after which Herzka will become senior chairman and focus on transaction growth and relationship expansion, the firm said in a news release.

“I see great potential to revitalize the broker model and enhance the core engine of the firm while investing in adjacent commercial real estate capabilities and strengths,” Brooks said in a statement. 

His former role as a regulator and counsel for a government-sponsored enterprise will be vital for Meridian, which has been reckoning for months with the fallout of an investigation by Freddie Mac into deals it brokered.

In November, it was reported that Freddie Mac launched an investigation into Meridian, though details at the time were undisclosed. A day after the investigation was reported, Fannie Mae announced that all agency-backed loans that involved brokers would be pre-reviewed. 

This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meridian was “effectively blacklisted” by Fannie and Freddie amid allegations that its brokers fabricated numbers in applications to help their clients get bigger loans. Its brokers took on increased scrutiny amid the near-collapse of New York Community Bank, which leaned on Meridian to find borrowers.

Freddie Mac told Meridian brokers they were blacklisted even if they went to different firms, the WSJ reported, citing unnamed sources, while Fannie Mae told lenders it would stop accepting Meridian-brokered loans earlier this month.

In an interview with Bloomberg Tuesday, Brooks elaborated on his new role.

“Obviously we need to reset that relationship and we need to build a risk infrastructure at Meridian that meets Freddie Mac’s expectations — that’s job one,” Brooks told Bloomberg. “We’ll be engaging on Day 1 with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHFA to talk about ways we can improve the risk culture and ways that we can improve compliance to give them confidence.”

Since its founding in 1991, Meridian has arranged more than $550B in commercial real estate financing for more than 11,000 customers. Meridian President Yoni Goldman will stay on in his role, the firm said.

“As we look to institutionalize Meridian as a world-class company and further diversify our revenues, there is no better steward of our future than Brian,” Herzka said in a statement. “He is an outstanding and recognized leader in financial services, and I am excited to work with him to build on our firm’s foundation of unparalleled experience and market intelligence. Thanks to the work of our leadership and team, we are positioned well to stand tall and thrive in the service of our stakeholders as the real estate market and regulatory environment evolve.”