Originations

Equity Residential Properties Trust, Chicago, has priced a $150 million offering of 6.0 million depositary shares, each representing a one-tenth interest in a share of the company's 6.48% series N cumulative redeemable preferred stock.The depositary shares, with a $25 liquidation value, entitle holders to a 6.48% annual cumulative dividend and are not convertible into common stock, the real estate investment trust said. The shares are redeemable at the company's option on and after June 19, 2008. Equity Residential also announced that it has called for the redemption of all $100 million of its 7.625% series L cumulative redeemable preferred stock. The REIT can be found online at http://www.eqr.com.

Monroe Bancorp., Bloomington, Ind., has made a special provision to its loan-loss reserve of $2.3 million in connection with loans to a real estate developer who recently filed for bankruptcy, according to the bank holding company.The provision is expected to reduce net income for the year by $1.4 million, or $0.23 per share, Monroe said. "We found the special provision to our loan-loss reserve prudent after a thorough review of the collateral values and other factors in the very complex bankruptcy proceedings associated with this real estate developer," said Mark D. Bradford, president and chief executive officer of Monroe Bancorp. He said it is unlikely that the entire amount of the loans will be collected. Monroe can be found online at http://www.monroebank.com.

Classes G and H of Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates series 1997-XL1 have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings.The ratings on nine other classes in the deal were affirmed. The rating agency attributed the Rating Watch placement to the transfer to special servicing of the Westgate Mall loan, secured by a regional mall in Fairview Park, Ohio, and the deterioration in performance of the Grand Kempinski loan, secured by a luxury hotel in Dallas.

The ratings on eight classes in COMM 2001-FL4 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.In addition, S&P's ratings on eight classes in the deal have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications (including two of the downgraded classes) and the ratings on nine others have been affirmed, the rating agency said. The downgrades were as follows: class C, from AA-minus to A; class D, from A to BBB; class E, from A-minus to BB; class K-PS, from BBB-plus to B-plus; class L-PS, from BBB to B; class M-PS, from BBB-minus to B-minus; class L-GC, from BBB to BB; and class M-GC, from BBB-minus to BB-minus. The last two classes were also placed on CreditWatch Negative, along with classes K-HM, L-HM, M-HM, K-LF, L-LF, and M-LF. The downgrades and CreditWatch placements were attributed to "significant declines" in the credit characteristics of five of the nine remaining loans in the pool. S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

The members of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America have endorsed MBA-recommended changes to a standardized commercial insurance form aimed at providing more accurate property coverage information, according to the MBA.A new form, Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance (ACORD Form 28), would take a "checklist" approach that provides "a clear and concise description" of property insurance, including types of coverage, limits, deductible amounts, and exclusions, the MBA said. Uncertainty surrounding terrorism insurance is one factor contributing to the move for a new form. "Mortgage servicers and lenders should be notified as to whether borrowers have accepted or rejected terrorism insurance on a property, which is key to ensuring clarity of information and would avoid chaos, confusion, and huge cost inefficiencies in the event of a future terrorist attack," said Kathleen Dufraine, vice president for insurance at CapMark Services. Ms. Dufraine, a member of the MBA's newly formed Certificate of Insurance Working Group, is working with ACORD to promote the new form, the MBA said. ACORD, the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, is a global association focused on developing standards for the insurance and related financial services industries.

The National Association of Realtors plans to launch national and local indices that are designed to be six- to nine-month leading indicators of home sales, according to NAR chief economist David Lereah.Mr. Lereah told attendees at a briefing with Wall Street analysts in New York that the indices would be based on the correlation between consumer Web-search activity and home sales. He said the association hopes to start by releasing the national index by the end of the summer. The NAR can be found on the Web at http://www.realtor.org.

MAF Bancorp Inc., Chicago, has agreed to acquire St. Francis Capital Corp., a Milwaukee-based thrift holding company, in a deal valued at $264 million.Allen Koranda, chairman and chief executive of MAF, said St. Francis' focus on commercial, multifamily, and consumer lending "will be an excellent complement to our strengths in residential lending and provide good asset diversification to our overall loan portfolio." MAF also announced a $500 million, five-year lending commitment in Milwaukee that would target low- to moderate-income census tracts and people whose income is below 80% of the area median income. The loans will fund one- to four-family and multifamily housing initiatives. The combination will preserve the community lending programs and homebuying counseling programs that St. Francis now offers.

Timothy Howard, Fannie Mae's chief financial officer, has been named vice chairman of the government-sponsored enterprise, replacing the departing Jamie Gorelick.Mr. Howard's appointment followed his election to Fannie Mae's board of directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders, the GSE said. He will continue to serve as company CFO. Mr. Howard joined Fannie Mae in 1982 as vice president and chief economist. He later served as senior vice president for economics and planning, executive vice president of economics, strategic planning, and financial analysis, and EVP of asset management. Ms. Gorelick announced in January that she would leave Fannie Mae to become a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. She recently announced that she will become a partner in Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, a Washington law firm, as of July 1.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, climbed to 1562.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 16 from 1417.8 the week before, as falling interest rates continued to spur refinancings, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 9.7% on the week and 196.2% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index declined from 415.2 to 395.8, and the Refinance Index jumped from 7250.0 to 8351.1. Refinancings represented 76.0% of total applications, up from 72.4% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 12.5%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from a survey-record low of 5.27% to a new low of 5.17%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.43 to 1.40 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp., Freehold, N.J., has announced the closing of a new line of credit that will total $10 million in the first year and $15 million thereafter.Monmouth, a real estate investment trust that specializes in net-leased industrial properties, said the line replaces a usable line of approximately $6.26 million that was to expire in November. The LOC was provided by UnitedTrust Bank, Bridgewater, N.J.

EastGroup Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Jackson, Miss., has priced a direct offering of 571,429 shares of common stock at $26.25 per share.The shares will be sold to an institutional buyer, with A. G. Edwards & Sons acting as the exclusive placement agent, the REIT said. The net proceeds of approximately $14.5 million may be used for general purposes, asset acquisition, new development, and the possible redemption of the company's series A preferred stock, EastGroup said. The REIT can be found online at http://www.eastgroup.net.

Class N of Salomon Brothers Mortgage Securities VII Inc.'s series 2000-C2 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates has been downgraded from B-minus to CCC by Fitch Ratings.In addition, classes L and M of the deal were placed on Rating Watch Negative, and the ratings on 12 other classes were affirmed. Fitch attributed the rating actions to increased estimates of possible losses on several loans in special servicing and to interest shortfalls affecting the classes. "Nine loans (9.8%) are currently in special servicing, five of which (4.0%) are delinquent," Fitch said. "Based on recent appraisals, losses may amount to as much as $17 million for some of these loans." The rating agency can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

The ratings on eight classes in COMM 2000-FL3 and COMM 2001-FL5 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.The downgrades in COMM 2000-FL3 were as follows: class D, from A-minus to BBB-minus; class K-WC, from BBB-plus to B-plus; class K-HS, from BBB-plus to BB-plus; and class L-HS, from BBB-minus to BB-minus. S&P also raised the rating on one class in the deal and affirmed the ratings on six others. It said the downgrade of class D reflects the decline in current or expected performance for four of the six loans in the pool, while the downgrade of class K-WC is linked to the decline in performance of the Whitehall Conference Center in Leesburg, Va. The downgrades of classes K-HS and L-HS are linked to the decline in value of the 10 Hanover Square office property in Manhattan, S&P said. The downgrades in COMM 2001-FL5 were as follows: class G, from A-minus to BBB; class K-HH, from BBB-plus to B-plus; class L-HH, from BBB to B; and class M-HH, from BBB-minus to B-minus. S&P also upgraded two classes and affirmed the ratings on 18 others. The downgrades were attributed to a decline in performance of the Hyatt Regency Houston. S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations got off to a strong start in the first quarter, totaling $18.9 billion, up 38% from the volume recorded a year earlier, according to a quarterly survey of "key commercial members" by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.The total was off considerably from the $29.4 billion in commercial/MF originations reported for the fourth quarter, but the MBA said such a decline is normal after the "customary surge" in year-end activity. "The pace of new lending is particularly impressive in light of uncertainties during the first quarter about the future of economic growth, the weak fundamentals in many commercial real estate markets, and the course of the war in Iraq," said MBA chief economist Douglas Duncan. The MBA said the first-quarter volume was "buoyed by marked increases in investment" in commercial mortgages by commercial mortgage-backed securities conduits and commercial banks. Investment by CMBS conduits rose $3.2 billion, or 86%, from that of a year earlier, and commercial bank investment climbed $967 million, or 50%, the MBA said. The group can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Meanwhile, the Independent Community Bankers of America and Freddie Mac have announced an agreement that gives ICBA member banks improved access to the secondary mortgage market.The pact will offer greater access to capital markets and portfolio management experts, customized websites for online mortgage lending, affordable mortgage lending products, customized training sessions for Freddie Mac products and services, and enhancements to a guaranteed rural housing loan product, the organizations said. "This alliance provides ICBA members with easier access to the secondary market so they have the funds, mortgage products, and technology tools to help meet the residential mortgage lending needs in their communities," said Dave Stevens, senior vice president for single-family lending at Freddie Mac. The ICBA can be found online at http://www.icba.org.

Freddie Mac believes that community-based mortgage lenders hold roughly $300 billion in loans that could be at risk if interest rates tick up by as little as 25 to 50 basis points.At a news conference May 20, Freddie Mac senior vice president Dave Stevens said about 2,400 banks, savings and loans, and credit unions have these loans on their books, noting that "many institutions are not match-funding" the assets. He added that institutions that are match-funding are likely using short-term deposits. Freddie Mac, said Mr. Stevens, is trying to make community lenders aware of the interest rate risk inherent in holding the loans because the two-year old refinancing boom could "come to a quick end." Community lenders are an increasingly important part of Freddie Mac's roster of seller/servicers, he said. Freddie Mac has 2,500 customers. It can be found on the Web at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Thirty-one minority professionals have been awarded scholarships to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's School of Mortgage Banking under a joint MBA/Freddie Mac diversity program.The program, Path to Diversity, was developed two years ago to increase cultural diversity in the real estate finance industry. In addition to providing scholarships, the program supports the internship programs of the 17 participating member firms by offering MBA distance-learning courses to interns free of charge, the sponsoring organizations said. The member firms are: American First FCU, Bank of America, Cenlar, Chase Manhattan Mortgage, CitiMortgage, CTX Mortgage, Countrywide, Ditech, GMAC, Irwin Mortgage, Magnet Portfolio Services, Peninsula Mortgage Bankers, Peoples Choice Mortgage, R-G Financial Republic Bank, SunTrust Mortgage, United Guaranty, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Shurgard Storage Centers Inc., a Seattle-based real estate investment trust, has reported that it will restate its financial results for 2001 and 2002.The REIT said it decided the restatement was necessary when its auditors reversed their previous recommendations regarding the accounting treatment for hedge transactions from 2001. "The hedge transactions being reviewed relate to interest rate swaps intended to mitigate the company's exposure to interest rate volatility," Shurgard said. "Based on the revised advice regarding accounting for the hedge transactions, the company has concluded that the change in the value of certain of these swaps should have been recorded as noncash charges on the company's income statement rather than as a component of other comprehensive income." The REIT said its preliminary estimate is that unrealized losses on financial instruments will range from $1.6 million to $2.8 million for 2001 and from $11.0 million to $12.5 million for 2002.

Fitch Ratings has also downgraded class N of J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2001-C1, from B-minus to CCC.Fitch also affirmed the ratings on 18 other Fitch-rated classes in the deal. The rating agency attributed the downgrade to anticipated losses of approximately $9 million on two specially serviced loans that would erode the credit enhancement of class N.

Two classes of J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp.'s mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-FL1, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: class H, from B to CCC; and class J, from B-minus to CC. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on six other Fitch-rated classes in the deal and upgraded two classes. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to anticipated losses on several specially serviced loans. The certificates are currently collateralized by 10 floating-rate mortgage loans, of which five are being specially serviced by Archon Group. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.