2 Lenders, 6 REITs Delay 10-Ks

Two mortgage lenders and six real estate investment trusts have reported a 15-day delay in the filing of their annual Form 10-K reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a San Diego-based mortgage banker, said the delay resulted from "the additional demands on management and other resources in complying with both the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the shortened 10-K filing deadline applicable to Accredited as an accelerated filer." Flagstar Bancorp, a mortgage originator based in Troy, Mich., also cited Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. The REITs seeking a filing delay are Cousins Properties Inc., Atlanta; Essex Property Trust, Palo Alto, Calif.; First Industrial Realty Trust, Chicago; General Growth Properties, Chicago; Impac Mortgage Holdings, Newport Beach, Calif.; and The Macerich Co., Santa Monica, Calif. Several cited the need to review methods of accounting for leases and leasehold improvements in the light of a Feb. 7 letter from the SEC to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In the case of Impac, the REIT said its commitment of resources to restate earnings for prior periods prevented it from completing a report on its internal control over financial reporting, delaying the completion of an audit by its independent auditor.