Fitch: CMBS Losses Rising

Losses are rising for U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities, a trend that is likely to continue as a result of loan seasoning and growing CMBS volume, according to Fitch Ratings' latest CMBS Loss Study.However, Fitch also reported that delinquencies for CMBS declined from 1.20% in April to a new low of 1.13% in May, the sharpest drop in a year. Regarding CMBS losses, the rating agency said loss severities have remained stable, rising only slightly from 40.1% in 2003 to 40.8% in 2004. "Historically, severities have remained close to 40%, and Fitch does not expect this to change," said Britt Johnson, a Fitch director. Meanwhile, delinquencies declined among all properties in May. The largest decline of 9.77% occurred in hotels and was attributable to 11 trust liquidations of real estate owned, Fitch reported. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.