Mortgage fund in Canada halts payouts amid liquidity crunch
BNN Bloomberg
Canadian real estate lender Romspen Investment has halted redemptions on its largest fund after a number of borrowers stopped making payments.
The Toronto-based firm will “temporarily defer payment” of redemptions until it’s clearer when borrowers will repay the loans and the fund can get cash from asset sales, according to a letter to investors dated Nov. 8. “Loan payoff activity remains suppressed.”
The move underscores the growing stress in the nation’s real estate market as a sharp rise in interest rates changes the economics of commercial projects and disrupts the housing market.
The firm, which is backed by New York-based TIG Advisors, is an established specialty manager of private mortgage funds, providing pre-development, construction and other loans for commercial and residential projects. It’s among the largest private players in that business in Canada.
