Kroll rates first conduit CMBS

By Kerri Ann Panchuk
• March 6, 2012 • 12:15pm

Kroll Bond Rating Agency issued its first risk assessment of an issue of conduit commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Last June, the company rated its first single-borrower CMBS deal, but is now ready to move into the conduit segment. 

Kroll announced preliminary ratings for a $1.1 billion deal collateralized by 38 fixed-rate commercial mortgage loans secured by 77 properties located in the United States and Mexico. The debt is coming to market via the Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust.

Retail loans represented 42.3% of the pool, followed by mortgages tied to lodgings (24%) and office properties (14.4%).

Kroll is fairly new to the marketplace, organizing its management team in 2010. The company rated its first residential mortgage-backed security on an offering from Redwood Trust ($20.33 0%) in January.

In late July, changes to the Standard & Poor's approach to rating CMBS conduit/fusion transactions led to two firms pulling a deal from the secondary markets.

kpanchuk@housingwire.com

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