Zions Bancorporation said Monday it has completed the acquisition of Basis Investment Group’s agency lending platform, gaining direct access to the Fannie Mae DUS and Freddie Mac Optigo programs that Basis used to originate multifamily loans on behalf of the two government-sponsored enterprises.
The deal, announced in a release distributed via PR Newswire, gives the Salt Lake City-based bank the team, capabilities and mortgage servicing rights tied to Basis Multifamily Finance I, LLC’s agency lending business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This acquisition bolsters our ability to serve multifamily customers and extends our commitment to workforce and affordable housing,” said Harris Simmons, chairman and chief executive of Zions.
Zions is one of the larger regional banking companies in the western U.S., with about $89 billion in total assets as of the end of 2025 and $3.4 billion in annual net revenue, operating across 11 states under a collection of local bank brands. The company is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and Nasdaq Financial 100 indexes.
What Zions is buying
Basis Investment Group is a diversified commercial real estate investment platform and registered investment advisor that has closed more than $9.2 billion in debt and equity transactions across 47 states, with a focus on middle-market commercial real estate and, in particular, affordable and workforce housing. Its Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) and Freddie Mac Optigo Conventional licenses allowed it to originate and service multifamily loans that the GSEs would then purchase or guarantee — a lending channel that is generally limited to a select group of approved lenders.
“Our strategic partnership expands investment and financing opportunities in affordable housing across fund platforms,” said Tammy K. Jones, Basis’s founder and chief executive.
Zions was advised on the transaction by its own Zions Capital Markets unit and by law firm Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP. Basis was advised by Beekman Advisors and law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
Fannie Mae’s DUS program and Freddie Mac’s Optigo program are the two dominant channels through which the GSEs purchase and guarantee multifamily mortgages, and both restrict participation to a limited roster of approved lenders that meet capital, servicing and underwriting standards. That selectivity is part of why banks looking to enter or expand in agency multifamily lending often acquire an already-approved platform, as Zions did here, rather than apply for DUS or Optigo approval directly, a process that can take years. Basis built its licenses around a specific niche — workforce and affordable multifamily housing in middle markets — giving Zions a ready-made book of business and underwriting expertise in that segment rather than a general-purpose lending shop.
What it means
Adding a licensed agency lending platform gives Zions a more direct pipeline into GSE-backed multifamily finance, a market Fannie Mae has said grew its multifamily new-business volume even as origination activity fluctuated elsewhere this year. Regional banks acquiring specialized agency-lending platforms rather than building them internally has become a common way to gain DUS or Optigo approval quickly, since the GSEs’ lender-approval process is selective. The move also comes as affordable and workforce housing deals have continued to draw capital from banks, investors and specialty lenders navigating a higher-rate environment. What to watch: whether Zions expands the acquired team’s origination volume meaningfully in the coming quarters, and whether other regional banks pursue similar acquisitions of specialized agency lenders to build out multifamily platforms.
