Origination

Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. has announced that the date of its inclusion in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index has been extended to the close of trading on Sept. 29. The previously announced date was Sept. 26. Urstadt is a real estate investment trust based in Greenwich, Conn.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, Rockville, Md., has announced the pricing of a public offering of 1.5 million shares of its common stock at $35 per share. The REIT said it will grant the underwriters an option to buy up to 225,000 additional shares to cover any overallotments. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Wachovia Capital Markets LLC, and Raymond James & Associates are the joint book-running managers of the offering. The REIT can be found online at http://www.writ.com.

National Retail Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla., has priced a public offering of 3.0 million shares of common stock at $23.05 per share. The underwriters were granted an option to buy up to 450,000 additional shares to cover any overallotments. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC are the joint book-running managers for the offering. National Retail Properties, which focuses primarily on properties subject to long-term net leases, can be found online at http://www.nnnreit.com.

The National Association of Realtors has announced the launch of a Federal Housing Administration Toolkit aimed at enabling Realtors to help buyers obtain safe and affordable FHA-backed mortgages. The toolkit includes a video on frequently asked questions and a flash-media presentation of FHA programs, as well as brochures, other reference guides, and links to useful resources. "FHA offers a safe alternative to many of the subprime and exotic loans that caused much of today's market turmoil, and the program is easier to use than ever before," said Pat V. Combs, immediate past president of the NAR. The association can be found on the Web at http://www.realtor.org.

The long-term Issuer Default Ratings of BankUnited Financial Corp., a mortgage lender based in Coral Gables, Fla., and its subsidiaries have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Fitch downgraded the parent company's IDR from BB-minus to CCC and the IDR of BankUnited FSB from BB to CCC. The rating agency noted that BankUnited recently agreed to a cease-and-desist order with the Office of Thrift Supervision, an action that "significantly weakens the liquidity profile of the holding company as the regulators restrict payments from the bank to the holding company," Fitch said. The C&D order requires, among other things, that the bank's Tier One capital ratio be maintained above 7% and that its loan loss reserve be increased. The order says BankUnited "has engaged in unsafe and unsound practices leading to a significant rise in delinquencies and defaults in its payment-option [adjustable-rate mortgage] portfolio," Fitch said.

The U.S. attorney in New York has subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of an investigation into whether fraud contributed to the demise of these now government-owned mortgage investing giants. According to public filings, Fannie and Freddie said they face ongoing investigations from both the U.S. attorney and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The two agencies are seeking information about their accounting, financial disclosures, and corporate governance. Freddie said the subpoena it received involved matters for the period Jan. 1, 2007, to the present. Both companies -- which are operating under federal conservatorships -- said they will cooperate with the investigations. Besides the Fannie and Freddie probes, the FBI has launched preliminary investigations into the downfall of Lehman Brothers and American International Group. In addition, more than 20 subprime firms are the subject of criminal investigations by the government. The government seized control of Fannie and Freddie on Sept. 7.

Vertice, the wholesale lending operation of Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C., which was once run by former Mortgage Bankers Association chairman John Robbins, will be making the transition to Citigroup, according to a company spokeswoman. Although Vertice operated under the Wachovia Securities banner, it is part of the parent's corporate and investment group, she explained. (Wachovia did not sell Wachovia Securities or Evergreen Asset Management as part of the deal.) In after-hours trading, before the markets opened, Wachovia's common stock was down to $0.94 per share after closing at $10 on Sept. 26. As of midday on Sept. 29, it had not started to trade. Vertice combined American Mortgage Network, the San Diego-based wholesaler formed by Mr. Robbins, with another Wachovia wholesale operation. Mr. Robbins recently retired as managing director and special counsel for Wachovia Securities. He had not been responsible for the day-to-day operations at Vertice for a couple of years.

By purchasing Wachovia Corp., Citigroup -- which is receiving federal aid on the deal -- will pick up additional market share in both residential lending and servicing, challenging Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo for the top perch in the industry. Among servicers, Wachovia had a 2.09% market share. In lending, Wachovia's share was much higher -- 3.89%. When the dust settles from the recent spate of acquisitions, the mortgage industry will have four $1 trillion-plus servicers: Bank of America ($2.09 trillion), Wells Fargo ($1.50 trillion), Chase ($1.45 trillion), and Citigroup ($1.02 trillion). Early Monday morning the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced that Citigroup would buy the ailing Wachovia through an "open bank transaction" in which no federal money will be provided at first but the agency is potentially on the hook for Wachovia's mortgage losses -- most of which are tied to risky payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages. By agreeing to buy Wachovia, Citigroup will absorb the first $42 billion in losses on a $312 billion pool of loans. "The FDIC will absorb losses beyond that," the agency said in a statement. To compensate the government for bearing the risk of potential losses, the FDIC was given $12 billion worth of Citigroup preferred stock and options.

Citing continued deterioration in the housing market, Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home has reported a net loss of $144.7 million ($1.87 per share) for the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 31, compared with a net loss of $35.6 million ($0.46 per share) a year earlier. The company noted that, excluding $443 million of income from the company's discontinued French operations and the sale of those operations, it took a loss of $478.6 million ($6.19 per share) from continuing operations. The results included a pretax noncash charge of $82.2 million for inventory and joint-venture impairments and a charge of $58.1 million to record a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets generated during the quarter, the company said. Jeffrey Mezger, the company's president and chief executive officer, said deterioration in the demand for new homes and the availability of mortgage credit "have now been exacerbated by the recent, unprecedented turmoil in financial and credit markets, and it is too early to assess whether the federal government's proposed interventions will be effective." The company can be found online at http://www.kbhome.com.

Class H of Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc. commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-XL, has been downgraded from BBB-minus to BB-minus by Fitch Ratings and placed on Rating Watch Negative. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on five other classes in the deal. The downgrade was attributed to an increase in expected losses from a real-estate-owned asset, the Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles, Ill.