The delinquency rate for commercial MBS continued to improve in September, but the “special servicing” rate surged to a seven-year high, signaling that economic fallout from the pandemic is still festering.

KBRA was accused of getting sloppy on due diligence tied to CMBS and CLO deals. Without admitting wrongdoing, the rating agency agreed to pay $2 million-plus.

While the delinquency rate for office property CMBS has (so far) been contained, the acceleration of the work-from-home trend may reduce demand for office space and increase cash flow volatility.

But that’s easier said than done. The CMBS structure prohibits borrowers from taking on additional debt and includes a prepayment penalty clause, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pointed out.

Now may not be the best time to expand in the commercial MBS space, but SitusAMC has bought the assets of Cohen Financial. A contrarian play?

Residential MBS accounted for 39% of the combined structured-finance portfolio for the 15 largest life insurers in the U.S. (Includes data chart.)

Collateralized loan obligations tied to commercial real estate are faring well thanks to the sector’s limited exposure to the lodging industry.

The share of office properties in new commercial MBS is increasing and the use of upfront debt service reserves is fluctuating as issuers address the poor performance of outstanding deals.

The Federal Reserve’s lending program is credited with helping the MBS and ABS sector even though investor demand is falling short of expectations.

The rating service its stepping away from rating new commercial MBS backed by single-borrower hotel loans due to uncertainty prompted by the coronavirus. Only one such deal has been issued since April.