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Ralph Mazzeo

Partner, Asset Finance & Securitization at Dechert LLP

New York, NY

RM
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Why they matter

Leads Dechert's securitization practice and has closed landmark RMBS/RTL and blockchain-backed lending deals investors are watching in specialty finance.

Background

Ralph R. Mazzeo is a Global Finance partner at Dechert LLP, based in New York, who leads the firm's Asset Finance & Securitization team (appointed September 2021). He has roughly 25 years of experience in capital markets and mortgage finance, focusing on RMBS, CMBS, single-family rental (SFR) and CRE CLO structured finance, plus fintech/blockchain-enabled lending platforms. He holds a J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Arizona (Order of the Coif) and has been with Dechert for close to 17 years.

Notable deals

  • 2024
    Led Dechert's team as issuer's counsel to Toorak Capital Partners on Toorak 2024-RRTL1, the first-ever rated residential transition loan securitization ($240 million)
  • 2025
    Toorak 2024-RRTL1 deal named 'RMBS Deal of the Year' at GlobalCapital's US Securitization Awards, with Mazzeo recognized as lead counsel
  • 2019
    Led Dechert team advising Figure Technologies on its $1 billion blockchain-based (Provenance.io) asset financing facility with Jefferies
  • 2021
    Named lead of Dechert's Asset Finance & Securitization group firmwide

Call-prep brief

Ralph R. Mazzeo — Partner, Asset Finance & Securitization, Dechert LLP

Background

  • Global Finance partner, New York (also works out of Philadelphia); ~25 years in capital markets/mortgage finance.
  • Named lead of Dechert's Asset Finance & Securitization team in Sept. 2021.
  • J.D. summa cum laude, University of Arizona; Order of the Coif.

Current focus

  • Structured finance across RMBS, CMBS, SFR and CRE CLOs, plus newer asset classes like residential transition loans (RTL) and blockchain-collateralized HELOCs.
  • Represents issuers, originators, servicers and underwriters — not just banks, giving him visibility into both sponsor and investor-side deal mechanics.

What he cares about

  • Bringing rated structures to previously unrated/niche asset classes (e.g., first-ever rated RTL securitization for Toorak, 2024) to widen the fixed-income investor base.
  • Fintech-enabled origination and blockchain settlement rails (Figure Technologies' Provenance.io work).
  • Regulatory posture — has advised trade groups (SIFMA, MBA) on Dodd-Frank issues, so he tracks policy risk closely.

Recent moves

  • Co-led the Toorak 2024-RRTL1 deal, which won GlobalCapital's 2025 "RMBS Deal of the Year."
  • Continues advising specialty lenders (Finance of America, Putnam Investments, 400 Capital Management, Raymond James) on RMBS and reverse-mortgage issuances.

Potential sensitivities

  • As outside counsel, he cannot discuss confidential deal terms or specific client positioning — frame questions around market structure, not client-specific strategy.
  • Given his trade-association work, he may be cautious about statements that could be read as regulatory advocacy.

Questions to ask

  1. Which specialty-finance asset classes does he see moving from private to rated/public securitization next, following the RTL precedent?
  2. What structuring or diligence hurdles are slowing blockchain-collateralized lending facilities from scaling beyond Figure's model?
  3. How are rating agencies and investors currently pricing new-asset-class risk (RTL, SFR) versus legacy RMBS/CMBS?

Outreach draft

Subject
Question on rated RTL securitization trends
Hi Ralph, I came across Dechert's work on the Toorak 2024-RRTL1 deal — congratulations on the GlobalCapital RMBS Deal of the Year recognition. We're a private equity team evaluating opportunities in specialty finance and lending, and your work bringing rated structures to newer asset classes like residential transition loans caught our attention. Would you be open to a 20-30 minute call to share your perspective on where securitization structuring is headed for non-traditional mortgage and lending asset classes, and what's driving investor appetite for these deals? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

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