Walker & Dunlop Expands Capital Markets Presence in Miami

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 12, 2026--

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it is expanding its Capital Markets Institutional Advisory presence in South Florida with the addition of Michael Stepniewski, who is relocating to Miami from Manhattan. Stepniewski will advise clients on financing strategies across all asset classes with localized South Florida expertise while leveraging Walker & Dunlop’s national platform.

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“Miami continues to demonstrate exceptional momentum as a premier institutional market, driven not just by rising transaction activity but by an increasingly robust financing landscape,” said Aaron Appel, senior managing director at Walker & Dunlop. “Even before establishing a formal presence here, we’ve been deeply engaged in the South Florida market, delivering tailored financing solutions across asset classes and building strong relationships with local investors and sponsors. With sustained investor demand and our expanded presence, Walker & Dunlop is exceptionally positioned to support the evolving capital needs of this dynamic region.”

In recent months, Capital Markets Institutional Advisory has arranged a series of marquee financings in the Miami metropolitan area, including a loan for the acquisition and predevelopment of 1001 Brickell Bay Drive, construction loans for Villa Miami and Cassi Miami, and a refinancing for Forma Miami. The group has also closed refinancings for The WELL Bay Harbor Islands and Soho Beach House, as well as other institutional assets across the region. Over the past several years, the team has completed more than 75 financings throughout South Florida.

“The persistent tailwinds for South Florida’s continued growth made it clear that a permanent institutional advisory presence in the region is paramount to catering to our client’s needs,” said Stepniewski, senior director at Walker & Dunlop. “Strong synergies across our company’s platform, deep institutional capital relationships from across the globe & now unparalleled regional connectivity positions us well to deliver the best results for our clients.”

Walker & Dunlop continues to strengthen its presence across key markets nationwide. This addition underlines the growth of the company’s South Florida team and an expansion that will enable a full suite of advisory expertise, from debt to equity to investment sales. Clients will experience an integrated platform that offers timely insight and seamless coordination that delivers even stronger results.

In 2024, Walker & Dunlop’s Capital Markets team sourced over $16 billion from non-Agency capital providers. This vast experience has made them a top advisor on all asset classes for many of the industry’s top developers, owners, and operators. To learn more about Walker & Dunlop’s broad financing options, visit our website.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States and internationally. Our ideas and capital create communities where people live, work, shop, and play. Our innovative people, breadth of our brand, and our technological capabilities make us one of the most insightful and client-focused firms in the commercial real estate industry.

Michael Stepniewski

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Central bankers from around the world said Tuesday they “stand in full solidarity” with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his confrontation with the Fed with the Justice Department investigating and threatening criminal charges.

Powell “has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest," read the statement signed by nine national central bank heads including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

They added that “the independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability."

The dispute is ostensibly about Powell’s testimony to Congress in June over the cost of a massive renovation of Fed buildings. But in a statement Sunday, Powell, abandoning his previous attempt to ignore Trump’s relentless criticism, called the administration’s threat of criminal charges “pretexts’’ in the president’s campaign to seize control of U.S. interest rate policy from the Fed’s technocrats.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed for not moving faster to cut rates. Economists warn that a politicized Fed that caves in to the president’s demands will damage its credibility as an inflation fighter and likely lead investors to demand higher rates before investing in U.S. Treasurys.

Other signers of the statement carried on the ECB's website were Erik Thedeen, governor of Sweden's central bank; Christian Kettel Thomsen, chair of Denmark's central bank; Swiss National Bank Chair Martin Schlegel; Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia; Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada; Bank of Korea Governor Chang Yong Rhee; Gabriel Galipolo, governor of the Banco Central do Brasil.

Also attaching their names were François Villeroy de Galhau, board chair of the Bank for International Settlements, and Pablo Hernández de Cos, BIS general manager. The BIS is an international organization of central banks based in Basel, Switzerland.

One prominent central bank not included in the statement was the Bank of Japan. The statement said that more signatures could be added later.

A video of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell plays on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)