Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) announced the expansion of its restaurant-finance platform to cover hotel franchises with the hiring of two veteran bankers to its Restaurant and Hospitality Finance team, which is part of MUFG's Corporate and Investment Banking division.

Director Tracy Vasquez will lead loan underwriting and portfolio management of hotel-franchisee clients, and report to Quinn Hall, the team's Head of Loan Underwriting and Portfolio Management. Director Steven Getty will serve a senior relationship management function spearheading business development within the hospitality industry, and will report to Brian Geraghty, the team's Head of Loan Originations.

"With the addition of Tracy and Steven, we are scaling out our deep talent bench and expertise in franchise lending to pursue a significant new platform expansion in the hospitality industry," said Nick Cole, Head of Restaurant and Hospitality Finance. "Tracy and Steven are seasoned professionals who position us to deliver robust financing and advisory capabilities to franchisees of mid-scale, limited-service hotel chains, which represent a market segment with attractive risk/return credit characteristics, as well as growth opportunities for MUFG."

Vasquez will be based in Scottsdale, AZ, and has two decades of industry experience. Previously she was a Director of Underwriting and Portfolio Management for Wells Fargo's hotel-loan portfolio. Before then, Vasquez held senior roles at GE Capital's Franchise Finance Unit and at Western Alliance Bank that included the management of hotel-loan portfolios and underwriting responsibilities.

Getty will be based in Atlanta, GA. He was previously a Director of Hotel Franchise Finance at Wells Fargo, where he helped develop relationships with hotel investors and drove loan origination. Formerly, Getty assumed a number of key positions with similar responsibilities at Western Alliance Bancorporation's and GE Capital's Franchise Finance businesses.

MUFG's newly expanded Restaurant and Hospitality Finance team comprises investment banking professionals across multiple other locations including San Diego, Chicago, and Boston.