Grandbridge Real Estate Capital arranges more than $1.6 billion in financing and sales during first 90 days

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grandbridge RealEstate Capital LLC, a subsidiary of BB&T Corporation principal subsidiaryBranch Banking and Trust Company, today announced the closings of 225transactions totaling $1.6 billion from November through January -- thefirst 90 days of business for Grandbridge. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080303/CLM064LOGO) "The volume of transactions closed during our first 90 days --especially considering the disruption in the capital markets arena -- wasexcellent," said Grandbridge Chief Executive Officer Thomas S. Dennard."The commercial mortgage-backed securities markets are on the sidelines,yet our multi- discipline approach will help us through the challenges weexpect to face this year." "While we will continue to face challenges this year, I believe ourbroad and diverse product line and investor base will serve us extremelywell," said Grandbridge President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Roberts. Charlotte, N.C.-based Grandbridge, one of the largest full-servicecommercial and multifamily mortgage banking companies in the nation, has abroad investor base that includes insurance companies, CMBS lenders,pension fund advisors, and commercial banks as well as a proprietarylending platform. Grandbridge is a Fannie Mae DUS (R) (Delegated Underwriting andServicing) lender, a Freddie Mac Program Plus (R) seller/servicer and anactive participant in multifamily products insured by the Federal HousingAdministration (FHA). The company arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estateloans, services loan portfolios, and provides asset and portfoliomanagement and real estate brokerage services. It operates production offices in 28 cities across the country. TheGrandbridge servicing portfolio was more than $20.8 billion on Jan. 31.More information about Grandbridge is available at http://www.gbrecap.com. With $132.6 billion in assets, BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is thenation's 14th largest financial holding company. It operates nearly 1,500financial centers in 11 states and Washington, D.C. More information aboutthe company is available at BBT.com.