CMBS

Standard & Poor's, along with Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, downgraded billions of dollars structured transactions in the summer of 2007, resulting in a wave of criticism. So when Deven Sharma was named S&P president on Sept. 1 of that year, he kicked off a reform program that continues today.

CMBS investors should brace for one of the largest note auctions in mid-May, according to a report from Barclays Capital.

Michael Wade will be leaving Credit Suisse. Wade was hired by Credit Suisse from Barclays Capital about a year ago as a managing director and co-head of asset finance in the global markets solutions group along with Tricia Hazelwood.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today voted unanimously to propose amendments that would remove references to credit ratings in several rules under the Exchange Act.

General Growth Properties (GGP) has identified 28 properties classified as “Discontinued Operations” of which 17 were previously sold or returned to the lender in its latest earnings report.

The price of commercial real estate loans that are securitized dropped a mere 10 basis points between February and March, showing signs of stabilization in the market, an expert said.

When global regulators last year announced final international capital and liquidity standards, bankers for the first time in months breathed a sigh of relief, appearing even to welcome the agreement.

Blackstone Group obtained an $800 million loan from JPMorgan Chase to refinance debt backed by 13 hotels, according to a Bloomberg report. The debt is expected to be restructured as a CMBS, the report said.

Velocity Commercial Capital (VCC) is in the market Velocity Commercial Capital Loan Trust 2011-1. The single-tranched, $62.2 million transaction, which is managed by UBS, is a collateralized by small balance commercial loans sponsored by VCC.

Preliminary figures released today by Jones Lang LaSalle's research on global direct commercial real estate (CRE) investment volumes showed that these investments continue to appeal to a broad range of investors.