Outlook For Commercial MBS Issuance Looks Bleaker

On the back of a 30% drop in first-quarter volume, the outlook for commercial MBS issuance is even bleaker for the next couple of months, though there are signs that the lending market’s deep freeze is starting to thaw. Commercial Mortgage Alert highlights in its April 1 publication that private-sector CMBS issuance sagged, while activity in the agency market was strong. Drop in Commercial MBS Issuance Commercial MBS shops floated just $19 billion of U.S. transactions from January to March, down from $27 billion a year earlier. The unexpected decline was touched off by a sudden disruption in global markets, which caused…