Blackstone announced the formation of its Structured Finance Group, which brings together Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (“BREDS”) and the firm’s various asset backed finance activities. Jonathan Pollack, currently the Global Head of BREDS, has been named Global Head of the Structured Finance Group. Timothy Johnson, currently the Global Head of Originations for BREDS, will become Global Head of BREDS, overseeing all commercial and residential lending activities.

Rob Camacho will continue to lead the firm’s investment activities in asset based finance. Mike Wiebolt, who currently manages the Real Estate Group’s liquid securities activities, will now also manage asset backed securities.

The formation of this combined group will drive further scale in Blackstone’s lending capabilities across a variety of asset backed finance markets, including consumer finance, real estate, transportation, trade receivables, fund finance, and digital infrastructure.

Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, said: “This team will capitalize on information across asset classes to deliver unique financing solutions to our clients. The time to expand this part of our business has never been better, particularly as we deploy increasing amounts of insurance capital. Jonathan has done a tremendous job leading BREDS, and we’re excited for him to apply his expertise more broadly.”

Mr. Pollack said: “We believe that direct origination of structured credit investments is integral to delivering differentiated performance for our clients. We are excited to build upon our greatest strengths – broad sourcing capabilities reinforced by deep relationships, large scale capital, and providing tailored solutions to our borrowers and counterparties.”