As banks continue to tighten the ropes on commercial lending, non-regulated and lightly regulated lenders are using this opportunity to move in on more lucrative deals that banks are reluctant to enter.

As buyout firms, REITs and hedge funds increase their lending, investment firms are presently seeking a record $32B in debt—though this debt usually comes with higher interest rates. This shift in commercial lending is likely to make companies like Blackstone Group and Starwood Property Trust even larger forces in the market—especially since they’re able to take on more risk where regulated lenders are not following the 2008 financial crisis, Bloomberg reports.

“These guys aren’t scared of an empty building,” JMP Securities analyst Steven Delaney tells Bloomberg. “These are the loans banks don’t want. There is a tremendous opportunity and a need for commercial property owners for more types of financing than the commercial banking industry as a whole is willing to provide.” [Bloomberg]