Our team

Better people make better lending

We lend billions of dollars to commercial real estate projects every year. But it’s not just capital that distinguishes us. It’s the empowered nature of our workforce. Our advisors are experienced experts whose sole focus is to deliver financing strategies that enable you to achieve greater success.

Our Better Lending culture – three decades in the making – is built on the skill that comes from pure mortgage lending. Because we start from a position of knowledge about you, your project, and your market, we can design solutions that are fit for your purpose. And because accountability is in our nature, we meet our commitments.

Better by design, better by nature, better for you in every corner of the country.

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Team Pawliuk - Vanier

Honest communication. Deep relationships. Meaningful advice.

Kyle Pawliuk joined First National in 2015 and Zach Vanier joined in 2016. When Kyle relocated to the west coast office in 2019, Kyle and Zach became friends and formed their origination team in 2022. Their experience and strengths complement each other. Both have solid foundations in underwriting. Zach has operated his own construction company. Kyle is passionate about business development and relationship building. Together, they are driven by applying creativity and ingenuity to figure out the puzzle of commercial financing. Many of their existing clients are family-run real estate companies with diversified income producing portfolios. Their goal is to be growth advisors, going deep with clients personally and professionally and joint venturing on solutions. Whether it’s development projects or acquisitions, Kyle and Zach go beyond the lending transaction. Their approach to meaningful advice includes clarifying the intricacies of CMHC programs, anticipating and planning for any possible challenges with CMHC, sharing market intelligence and connecting clients with trusted network contacts for private equity, operational consultants and energy efficiency consultants. Honest and transparent in their communication, Kyle and Zach provide pertinent details from the onset so each transaction always has merit. Working with families, Kyle and Zach respect the legacies they are helping to shape. While supporting their clients’ growth, they are also making important contributions to their communities, advancing the sustainability and viability of affordable housing in BC.