Meristar CMBS Classes Downgraded

Three classes of Meristar Commercial Mortgage Trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C1, have been downgraded by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.The downgrades were as follows: class B, from A to BBB; class C, from BBB to BB-plus; and class D, from BBB-minus to B. S&P also affirmed the ratings of three other classes in the deal. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to a deterioration in the pool's operating performance since issuance, citing a decrease in debt service coverage from 1.70 times to 1.39 times and an increase in the loan-to-value ratio from 65% to 80%. The transaction consists of a single fixed-rate loan evidenced by two notes secured by 19 hotels located in 10 states. S&P can be found on the Web at http://www.standardandpoors.com.