New U.S. commercial MBS issuance reached a record level of $98.2 billion in 2004, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Several analysts are predicting that the market will hit even greater heights this year, with an increasing number of large deals. The fourth quarter of 2004 turned out to be the best three-month period ever for CMBS, with $26.3 billion in issuance, up from $24.9 billion in the previous…