New Hire

Carmel, Ind. (May 28, 2025)—Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announced the appointment of Brandon Conway as Executive Vice President of Tax Credit Equity Asset Management. The addition reflects the growth of Merchants’ tax credit equity platform, which has raised more than $2.1 billion in capital since its inception in 2021. Brandon will be based in Merchants Capital’s Carmel headquarters. Conway brings more than 20 years of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) asset management experience, including seven years of special assets and dispositions experience to his role. Most recently he served as Senior Vice President at CREA, LLC, where he established a new department to resolve complex asset management issues. "Brandon’s deep experience and expertise in navigating the entire life cycle of a LIHTC transaction is a huge asset to our platform,” said Julie Sharp, Executive Vice President of Tax Credit Equity at Merchants Capital. “We could not be more proud to have him lead our asset management division into the future.” In January, Merchants announced the closing of $1.08 billion in fund investments across multi-investor, proprietary and state credit offerings for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024. The company was recently ranked #4 Affordable Housing Lender of 2024 by Affordable Housing Finance. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.MerchantsCapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Pete Nichol SAN FRANSISCO (April 9, 2025)—Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announced the addition of Pete Nichol as Senior Vice President of Originations to expand its footprint to the West Coast. Based in San Franciso, Nichol joins the sales team of Andrew Weil and Justin Ginsberg, both Executive Vice Presidents of Originations. Nichol previously served as Managing Director at Grandbridge, a subsidiary of Truist Bank, Director of Affordable Housing at The Reliant Group and Director at Centerline Capital Group. Nichol brings a broad affordable housing background comprising debt and tax credit equity to his position, along with longstanding relationships with Weil and Ginsberg. The trio has worked together for more than 20 years. "We’re excited to be working together once again—particularly with the opportunities that exist in leveraging Merchants Bank’s balance sheet to better support clients’ financing needs," said Justin Ginsberg, Executive Vice President of Originations at Merchants Capital. “Pete’s knowledge of affordable housing is expansive—he’s very experienced in the nuances that exist on the equity and debt sides of the industry,” said Andrew Weil, Executive Vice President of Originations at Merchants Capital. “With Pete on board, Merchants is strengthening its reach westward to ensure that it is well positioned as a national affordable housing financing platform,” said Michael Dury, President and CEO of Merchants Capital. “He has an impressive background, and we look forward to adding his expertise to the team.”  Merchants Capital consistently ranks among the top agency lenders in the United States. It was recently named #2 in Multifamily Affordable Originations by Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.MerchantsCapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Andrew Weil NEW YORK (March 6, 2025)—Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announced the additions of industry veterans Andrew Weil and Justin Ginsberg, both with the title of Executive Vice President of Originations, to lead its fifth debt sales team nationwide. In these positions, Weil and Ginsberg will provide leadership and expertise to enhance Merchants Capital's national multifamily and affordable housing debt and equity footprint. Weil and Ginsberg have worked together in the affordable housing industry for more than 30 years. At Centerline Capital Group, they led the affordable housing tax credit and debt platform. For the last 12 years, they were the co-heads of the affordable housing agency lending platform at Grandbridge, a subsidiary of Truist Bank. Justin Ginsberg "Andy and Justin are highly regarded for their expertise in affordable housing and agency lending. With limited customer overlap, this additional team allows for maximum reach across the industry to execute on Merchants’ pursuit to be the premier affordable housing financing provider nationwide," said Michael Dury, President and CEO of Merchants Capital. "Their extensive industry knowledge and experience, combined with our active balance sheet lending and tax credit equity platform, will position them to best serve existing and new relationships." Merchants Capital consistently ranks among the top agency lenders in the United States, holding licenses with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD/FHA. This expertise, combined with Merchants’ bank balance sheet products, provide sponsors with beginning-to-end financing solutions that adapt to market changes. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.MerchantsCapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

CARMEL, Ind. (May 21, 2023) – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announced the addition of Michael Larsen to its executive leadership team in the new role of Chief Financial Officer. Larsen oversees Merchants’ accounting and finance platform and is based in the New York office. The position was created in response to Merchants’ organizational growth and platform complexity with expansion in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) syndications, multifamily & healthcare securitizations and growing agency platform. Michael Larsen Larsen brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the position. He most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Lument, a leading agency lender. In these roles, he provided executive leadership for all aspects of real estate lending and investment management for a platform with $16 billion in annual volume and $50 billion in assets under management. Prior to that role, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Hunt Real Estate Capital and Centerline Capital Group, a publicly traded mortgage banking and investment management company. Larsen began his career in real estate consulting and structured finance practices at Arthur Andersen. “Mike brings a deep understanding of both agency lending and LIHTC syndications, which are core to Merchants’ growth plans,” said Michael Dury, President and Chief Executive Officer at Merchants Capital. “His skillsets and leadership proficiency complement those of our executive team, and I can’t wait to see the positive impact he will have on our entire organization.” Larsen received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

NEW YORK (June 6, 2023) – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital announces the hiring of Min Park as Senior Vice President, Balance Sheet Construction. Park joins the firm’s New York office, which recently celebrated another year of record-breaking success, having closed more than $1.3 billion in debt financing in 2022. Park brings more than two decades of real estate finance and construction asset management experience to the role, having most recently served as a director at Citi Community Capital. While Merchants originates multifamily and affordable loans on a national scale, strengthening the company’s local presence in the New York market enables better decision making and customer service in this fast-growing region. Min Park “Many companies tout their production numbers, and rightfully so, but Merchants is also proud to celebrate the accomplishments and evolution of our loan servicing team who continue to provide superior service to our clients and investors as we’ve scaled the platform,” said Brian Sullivan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Merchants Capital. “The leadership team has grown through a mix of in-house talent and selective outside hires when the right person is available. Min was clearly the right fit from an experience and cultural standpoint, and we can’t wait to see the impact she’ll have on our team.” Recently, the firm surpassed $20 billion in unpaid principal balance in its servicing portfolio. With this growth, Merchants continues to strengthen its asset management team and technology platform to be best in class. Park will lend her expertise to the construction lending team to proactively oversee and manage risk nationally for the firm’s institutional investors, including parent company Merchants Bank of Indiana. In addition to her prior role at Citi Community Capital, Park also served at Hypo Real Estate Capital Corporation and Equity Office Properties. She holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and earned her Master of Science in Real Estate Finance and Investments from the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

CARMEL, Ind. – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital today announces that Margaret Lehto has joined the firm as Chief Architect. She will be based out of the company’s Chicago office. Lehto is a demonstrated leader in the architectural industry, with expertise tied to verifying that affordable housing developments meet local, state and federal requirements. Her experience encompasses oversight of assessments, architectural and engineering design and construction administration for a wide variety of public and private sector clients and projects. She is a licensed architect in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, a member of both the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Licensed Architects and she holds a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) professional accreditation. In her new role with Merchants, Lehto will be responsible for ensuring compliance with underwriting guidelines for debt and equity investments across the company. She will also manage the review of construction due diligence and third-party construction reports throughout the duration of all projects. Additionally, Lehto will use her skillset and knowledge of construction documentation and budget review to ensure projects are appropriately budgeted from the start so that Merchants and its customers will avoid critical issues that may arise later in the project life cycle. Prior to joining Merchants, Lehto’s over 20 years of experience included overseeing all aspects of architectural and engineering projects as well as design and construction services for thousands of affordable housing units and complexes across the Chicago metro area. Lehto is a graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree, and she holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois.

CARMEL, Ind. – Leading financial services company Merchants Capital today announces that Darren King has joined the firm as Vice President of Capital Markets. With more than 20 years of real estate experience, King is a recognized authority in the industry, possessing substantial knowledge in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), commercial real estate (CRE) and structured products. Darren King King joins Merchants Capital from Trepp, where he served as head of CMBS, responsible for product management. Prior to this role, he held a senior position as a CRE credit specialist at Davidson Kempner Capital Management and served as a portfolio manager at both Semper Capital Management and Jerica Capital Management. He also served as an executive director at UBS Investment Bank where he focused on CMBS trading and capital markets. In his new role, King will focus on expanding Merchants Asset Management, a New York-based registered investment advisor, which is focused on the launch of several bridge loan debt funds and new permanent financing products. King holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Virginia and is based out of the company’s New York office. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

CARMEL, Ind. – Leading financial services company Merchants Capital today announces that Lauren Campbell has joined the firm as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Campbell is recognized in the industry as a rising star in the legal space, with significant expertise in structuring Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity investment funds and multifamily real estate transactions with tax-exempt bonds, monetizable tax credits, federal and state subsidies and agency financing. Campbell joins Merchants from Ice Miller LLP in Indianapolis, where she primarily represented developers on affordable housing real estate transactions. Prior to that, Campbell spent more than seven years as an associate within the tax credit transactions practice group for Holland & Knight LLP in Boston. While at Holland & Knight, Campbell represented nationally recognized tax credit equity syndicators in national fund offerings as well as project-level investments and proprietary investment funds. In her new role, Campbell will join Merchants’ management team and serve as an advisor for upper management, offering guidance on issues relevant to investment fund formation, asset management, tax matters and complex financing structures. She will also serve as a liaison for outside counsel. Campbell holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor from Boston College. Campbell will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Carmel. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

CARMEL, Ind. – Leading financial services provider Merchants Capital is proud to announce that Barbara Girard has joined the firm as Executive Vice President of Asset Management and Servicing, based in Dallas, Texas. Merchants Capital is an approved Ginnie Mae Seller/Servicer, nationally ranked FHA lender and Fannie Mae Affordable and Freddie Mac Optigo Lender. In addition to these programs, Merchants Capital is a full-service tax credit equity syndicator and originates and services loans and investments on behalf of its parent company, Merchants Bank, and proprietary capital partners. Girard’s primary charge at Merchants Capital will be to enhance the loan surveillance and asset management systems and teams, as Merchants continues to grow and evolve its investor base and product types. “This is a big milestone for our company,” said Brian Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at Merchants Capital. “We continue to invest in the back end of our business to keep up with the terrific innovation happening in new product development, with the growth of our GSE platform, new proprietary capital products and the launch of our syndication platform for monetizable tax credits. Our investment in technology has been front and center, and now we have another leader who can really leverage it effectively.” A graduate of Babson College, Girard has over 20 years of commercial real estate asset management experience. Most recently, Girard served as managing director, asset management at NewPoint Real Estate Capital, formerly Barings Multifamily Capital, a subsidiary of Barings, an S&P-rated servicer monitoring performance of a $32 billion portfolio of assets throughout the United States. Prior to Barings, Girard was an asset manager at Prudential Financial and tax credit syndicator MMA Financial, a predecessor firm to Boston Financial. To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. # # #

CARMEL, Ind. – Financial services company Merchants Capital today announces an expansion of the tax credit equity team with two senior hires in the acquisitions and underwriting divisions. Laurie DiBona joins Merchants Capital as Vice President of Acquisitions in Boston. In her new role at Merchants, DiBona will manage relationships with top affordable housing developers in the United States, negotiating and structuring lower tier partnership agreements. DiBona previously spent 12 years in the equity acquisitions and asset management divisions at Boston Capital and R4 Capital. Lisa Zebro joins Merchants Capital as Vice President and Deputy Chief Equity Underwriter in New York. Lisa was previously a Manager in Ernst & Young’s tax credit equity division, where she spent 13 years opining on real estate underwriting, transaction structure, tax risk and feasibility for investments in tax credit funds sponsored by the nation’s largest tax credit syndicators. In her new role at Merchants Capital, Zebro is responsible for underwriting lower tier and upper tier investments in tax credit equity funds sponsored by Merchants Capital. “We are pleased to have these extraordinary women join our team, both of whom are experts in the tax credit equity field,” said Julie Sharp, Senior Vice President at Merchants Capital. “In a time of unprecedented growth in the equity syndication division, Merchants Capital continues to add industry-leading talent in key roles, solidifying our position as best-in-class in affordable housing finance.” To learn more about Merchants Capital and its services, visit www.merchantscapital.com or find Merchants Capital on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.