Dennis Bernard

Chair of the Government Relations Subcommittee, Jewish Federations of North America

Dennis Bernard is the founder and president of Bernard Financial Group (BFG) and Bernard Financial Servicing Group (BFSG). Founded in 1991, BFG has grown into Michigan’s largest commercial mortgage banking firm, financing an average of more than $1 billion in Michigan commercial real estate each year. BFG became a member of the Strategic Alliance Mortgage (SAM) network in 2003. SAM is a national network of the largest independently owned commercial mortgage banking firms and the third-largest lending platform in the country. Bernard is a past national president of SAM.

Over the last 33 years, Bernard has specialized in debt and equity placement with commercial lenders and institutional joint venture participants. BFG has also been involved in commercial mortgage servicing for construction and permanent loan portfolios. Bernard has participated in more than 1,000 commercial real estate financial transactions totaling over $29.2 billion and has served as both a consultant and a correspondent for more than 25 national lenders. BFG’s client list reads like a who’s who of Michigan owners and developers. These transactions have included multi- and single-tenant office, industrial, high-tech, retail, multifamily, manufactured housing, self-storage, hotel, and senior housing properties.

Since its inception, BFG has closed more than $27.5 billion in financing, including forward commitments and immediate funding for multifamily, retail, industrial, and high-tech properties. Its lenders have included life insurance companies, pension funds, structured lenders, securitized lenders, and quasi-government agencies. BFSG currently provides full cashiering and servicing for more than $4.4 billion in loans for life insurance companies and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) lenders. BFSG also serves as a sub-special servicer for many national firms.

Bernard holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University and an MBA specializing in finance and strategic planning from Case Western Reserve University. He has lectured on real estate finance at the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business and has appeared as an expert witness on real estate interest rates and financing in Michigan, New York, and Texas. He has contributed editorial content to The Wall Street Journal, Commercial, Inc., Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan Real Estate Journal, Midwest Real Estate News, National Real Estate Investors, Heartland Properties, and Real Estate Forum, among other publications.

Bernard has received numerous awards for his community and business involvement and is annually named among Metropolitan Detroit’s Top 100 Business Leaders. Most recently, he was elected president of the Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit and to the executive board of Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). He also serves on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Commercial Real Estate Board of Governors.

His professional honors include recognition in Crain’s Detroit Business’s “40 Under 40,” Midwest Real Estate News’s “40 Over 40” Most Influential Real Estate Professionals and Midwest Hall of Fame, and Commercial Inc.’s Elite Eight. He received the 2006 Governor’s Service Award for Volunteering and Community Leadership, as well as the Real Estate Excellence Award from Crain’s Detroit Business, the University of Michigan, and the Urban Land Institute.

Bernard has also received the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services’ Greenberg Leadership Award, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Young Leadership Award, the Jewish Community Council’s Activist of the Year Award, and the American Jewish Committee’s Outstanding Humanitarian Award. He was named an Oakland County “Hometown Hero” for his work on behalf of local charities.

Bernard currently serves on the boards of trustees of nine charitable organizations. He previously served as vice chair of Michigan’s Venture Michigan Fund and currently