Delinquency rate on CMBS loans reaches 12-year high

The delinquency rate on commercial mortgage-backed securities reached a 12-year high in the first three months of 2011, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. In its first-quarter commercial/multifamily delinquency survey, the MBA reported a 9.18% delinquency rate for CMBS loans classified as at least 30-days past due or in REO. Despite a decade high in the CMBS delinquency rate, the trade group noted a considerable slowing in the delinquency rate’s climb over the past few quarters. This estimation is inline with data from Barclays Capital, (BCS), which recently noted a slight decrease in CMBS delinquencies in May. At the same time, Barclays analysts said improvement is likely to be temporary and not necessarily reflective of a new trend. The MBA report covers commercial and multifamily delinquency rates on multiple investor classes, including commercial banks and thrifts, life insurance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those groups combined represent 86% of all commercial-multifamily mortgage debt, the MBA said. While CMBS delinquency rates are at an all-time high, other investor groups saw delinquency rates that are well below levels recorded in the early 1990s recession, the huge trade group said. The 90-day delinquency rate on loans held by banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. remained flat at 4.18% between the fourth quarter and first quarter. In addition, the 60-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in life insurance portfolios fell five basis points to 0.14%, while the 60-plus day delinquency rate on multifamily loans insured or held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell to 0.64% and 0.36%, respectively. Write to Kerri Panchuk.