US commercial mortgage debt in distress surges 320%: Moody's

Los Angeles

MORE than US$54.3 billion in US commercial mortgage backed securities have been transferred to loan workout specialists mostly because of payment delinquencies, a 320 per cent increase since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Moody's Investors Service said.

Hotel and retail properties, the sectors hit hardest by restrictions on travel and public gatherings to reduce virus transmissions, make up the vast majority of the debt transferred to special servicers.

"These loans currently account for 89 per cent of the special servicing balance, though loans for mixed-use properties, at 5 per cent, generally include a retail and hotel component," Keith Banhazl, a Moody's managing director, said in a statement.

Loans transferred to special servicers may end with a payment modification or foreclosure, resulting in losses for bondholders that are likely to increase if the economic downturn lasts long.

About US$4.2 billion in distressed loans transferred out of special service since March, as borrowers reached temporary agreements to defer payments or caught up on delinquent debt as business rebounded.

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Several of the largest real estate investors have stopped paying hotel and retail debt while soliciting billions of dollars from new investors for property opportunities that emerge out of the crisis.

Other data in the Moody's report includes: The rate of severely delinquent loans - more than 121 days late - nearly tripled in August, jumping to 2.3 per cent from 0.8 per cent in July.

Short-term delinquencies declined in August as borrowers entered forbearance agreements or caught up on past debts.

Smaller loans bundled in portfolios, known as conduit CMBS, accounted for US$5 billion of the US$5.4 billion of loans transfered in August to special servicers. Since March, US$25.1 billion of conduit loans were transferred to workout specialists.

Office properties made up only 3 per cent of special servicing loans.

The US$1.39 billion debt on the Mall of America is the largest single-loan in special service. Moody has downgraded one slice of the debt on Tuesday to A3, while still maintaining its rating of all slices of debt at investment grade. BLOOMBERG