Life companies have the ability to offer flexibility in terms and structure that CMBS, just by the nature of the market, can't offer. Life companies are not winning business because they are giving that last dollar, but they can be competitive on pricing and structure of terms. |
The challenge is making sure that we know what each of the lenders is doing in the marketplace. Because the market is so extremely competitive, our producers need to know what 100 different lenders are doing versus five. Our success is dependent on our producers being very in tune with what's going on in the capital markets. |
The rates will increase in 2006, but the increase will be gradual. So, we don't expect a significant pushback from borrowers because of the increase in rates. |