CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESS Newswire / May 29, 2026 / KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI), a national leader in affordable housing finance, today announced a key hire and new leadership appointments to further strengthen and scale its equity syndications platform.
Naomi See has joined CDLI as a senior banker on the business development and investor relations team, enhancing the platform's ability to deepen institutional investor relationships and accelerate capital formation. She reports to Christina Knuckles, Head of Equity Syndications and Fund Management, and is based in Seattle.
See will focus on raising capital and supporting the sourcing, structuring, and syndication of investments across low-income housing tax credits and state credits. She will work closely with acquisitions, fund management, and originations teams to align investor demand with a growing pipeline of opportunities.
Celia Smoot has been promoted to Head of Equity Originations, where she will lead investment strategies and execution, supporting continued growth of the firm's affordable housing equity pipeline. A highly respected leader in the affordable housing industry, Smoot has more than two decades of experience in LIHTC investing, fund structuring, and community development finance, and she is known for her ability to execute complex transactions and drive scalable investment strategies.
"These additions reflect our continued investment in building a best-in-class equity syndication platform," said Robert Likes, President of KeyBank CDLI. "We are strengthening our capabilities across acquisitions, syndication, and distribution to better serve our clients and investor partners and build on our position as one of the nation's leading affordable housing lenders, recently ranked second by Affordable Housing Finance."
These announcements build on a series of recent strategic leadership investments across the platform. In March 2026, Christina Knuckles was promoted to Head of Equity Syndications and Fund Management, recognizing her strong leadership, experience, technical expertise, collaboration, and steady approach. She has been instrumental in shaping the platform's growth and is leading the team as it continues to scale and evolve.
CDLI previously announced the appointment of Jon Burckin as a Senior Banker in Equity Distribution in July 2025, further expanding the platform's ability to grow investor coverage and distribution capabilities.
Together, these investments underscore KeyBank's commitment to building one of the industry's most integrated and high-performing equity syndication platforms, spanning acquisitions, fund management, syndication, and investor distribution.
About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment
KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank's platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency, Private Placements and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, particularly Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 11 consecutive "Outstanding" ratings on its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency-making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to achieve this distinction since the CRA's passage in 1977.
About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back more than 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189 billion at March 31, 2026.
Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 950 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.
###
Contact:
Laura Mimura
216-471-2883
Laura_J_Mimura@KeyBank.com
Key Media Newsroom:
Key.com/newsroom
Find more stories and multimedia from KeyBank at 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: KeyBank
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/keybank
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: KeyBank
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/keybank-community-development-lending-and-investment-expands-equity-1171797
