Fitch Downgrades or Withdraws Ratings on Distressed Classes in 11 U.S. CMBS Transactions

Fitch Ratings has taken various rating actions on already distressed U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) bonds. Fitch downgraded 24 bonds in 10 transactions to 'D', as the bonds have incurred a principal write-down. The bonds were all previously rated 'CC' or 'C', which indicates that losses were considered probable or inevitable.

Fitch has also withdrawn the ratings on three classes in one transaction as a result of realized losses. The trust balances have been reduced to $0 or have experienced non-recoverable realized losses and are no longer considered by Fitch to be relevant to the agency's coverage.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Today's downgrades are limited to just the bonds with write-downs. Any remaining bonds in these transactions have not been analyzed as part of this review. In cases where the last rated tranches of a transaction are in default and rated 'D', the defaulted ratings will be automatically withdrawn within 11 months of the date of the previous rating action.

A spreadsheet detailing Fitch's rating actions on the affected transactions is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' by performing a title search for: 'Fitch Downgrades or Withdraws Ratings on Distressed Classes in 11 U.S. CMBS Transactions', or by clicking on the link above.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

While the bonds that have defaulted are not expected to recover any material amount of lost principal in the future, there is a limited possibility this may happen. In this unlikely scenario, Fitch would further review the affected classes.