Portrait image for Howard J. Levine

Howard J. Levine

Founder, ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., L.P.

Howard J. Levine is the founder and former President/CEO of ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., L.P., headquartered in Calabasas Hills, CA. a leading provider of commercial and multifamily mortgage financing with offices nationwide. ARCS has been the leading Fannie Mae apartment building lender in the United States for more than a decade, as well as one of the agency's top three affordable housing lenders.

Mr. Levine founded the predecessor company, ARCS Mortgage, 36 years ago. In August 1995, Howard and a group of Southern California investors purchased the commercial mortgage servicing portfolio of ARCS from The Bank of New York Company, Inc. During the following 12 years, the company originated more than $20 billion in commercial loans. In the 3rd Quarter of 2007, ARCS became a PNC Real Estate Finance Company with the ability to provide virtually every loan product for every commercial real estate type. Mr. Levine now serves as Senior Advisor to ARCS management team.

ARCS is a recognized leader in multifamily finance. The company has been the #1 Fannie Mae DUS lender in America for more than a decade, as well as one their Top 3 affordable housing lenders. The company is also a Freddie Mac Program Plus lender, an FHA MAP lender, a conduit lender, and is able to provide mezz and bridge financing. At various times the company has been: #1 Multifamily Lender in America.

#1 Fannie Mae Lender overall
#1 Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Lender 5 years in a row
#1 Fannie Mae Small Loan Program Lender
#1 Fannie Mae DUS lender among readers of Apartment Finance Today 2 years in a row
#1 Fannie Mae Manufactured Housing Community Lender
Manufactured Housing Institute's Community Lender of the Year 2 years in a row

Mr. Levine remains very active on the California Board for Mercy Housing, a large affordable housing provider. He is a past member of the Executive Board of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Commercial Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and the Multifamily Council of the Urban Land Institute. He formerly served on the Board of Directors for the National Multihousing Council, the Multifamily Division of the National Association of Home Builders, the Menorah Housing Foundation, Camp Ramah and the Leadership Council of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Mr. Levine is a Founding Board member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the UCLA Ziman Real Estate Alumni Group (REAG) and the American Jewish University.

Howard has shared his expertise in frequent lectures and interviews at UCLA and USC graduate real estate and MBA programs. In addition, Howard and his wife, Irene, have been long-term supporters of UCLA Anderson and the Ziman Center. With Howard and Irene's extraordinary altruism and generosity, UCLA established the Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility to address timely and critical issues related to urban housing markets, housing policy, sustainability and redevelopment, particularly the housing needs and outcomes of lower-income and workforce households. The Levine Program is comprised of a multi-faceted set of academic enterprises, with each activity supporting a core function of the University's public education mission--teaching, research and professional/community outreach. 

With an additional gift from the Levine Foundation in 2018, the Ziman Center launched the Howard and Irene Levine Affordable Housing Development Program, a new university-level educational program uniquely designed to provide professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to develop affordable housing.

Howard holds a BS in Accounting from NYU, and received his MBA degree in 1967 in Urban Land Economics from UCLA Anderson. In 2011 UCLA Anderson celebrated its 75th anniversary and identified Howard Levine among its 100 Inspirational Alumni.