Wells Fargo, PNC Real Estate, and Deutsche Bank were the top three multifamily lenders in 2009, according to the New York-based Mortgage Bankers Association's annual rankings.

The rankings are colored by consolidation and the recession. For instance, Wells Fargo was the fourth-largest lender in 2008, with $6.1 billion in multifamily originations, while Wachovia was the second-largest at $6.8 billion. The combination of the two firms under the Wells Fargo name vaulted the company to the top spot in 2009, at $7.5 billion, knocking PNC down to second.

Capmark, which went bankrupt and was sold last year, was knocked down from third place in 2008 to sixth in 2009. But Capmark's new incarnation, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, came in at No. 21, originating $308 million in just a handful of weeks at the end of the year.

PNC retained the top spot among Fannie Mae lenders, originating more than $3 billion last year, followed by Deutsche Bank at $2.2 billion, and Wells Fargo at $2 billion. On the Freddie Mac side, Capmark fell from first in 2008 to fourth in 2009, replaced by CBRE Capital Markets, which originated $2.6 billion in Freddie loans last year. Wells Fargo was the second-largest Freddie lender at $2.3 billion, followed by Deutsche Bank at $2.2 billion.

Capmark also lost its top spot among FHA lenders last year; that spot was claimed by Prudential's $1.2 billion in originations. Wells Fargo landed the second spot with $816 million in FHA loans, while PNC came in third at $639 million.