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LONDON (Standard & Poor's) May 25, 2006—Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
said today that it has assigned an "AVERAGE" ranking to CB Richard Ellis Loan
Servicing Ltd. (CBRELS) as a primary commercial loan servicer in the U.K. The
outlook is stable.
CBRELS was launched in July 2005. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of CB
Richard Ellis Ltd. U.K. (CBRE), a subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis Services
Inc., itself a subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. CBRE is a major
player in the U.S. origination and loan servicing market through its
subsidiary, CBRE Melody & Co., and GEMSA Loan Services, L.P. (GEMSA), a joint
venture between CBRE Melody and GE Capital Real Estate.
GEMSA is ranked "STRONG" as a commercial mortgage servicer and master servicer
by Standard & Poor's. It is the master and/or primary servicer on over 150
CMBS pools.
The first portfolio under management consists of 180 properties situated
throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, valued at £463 million as of December
2005.
"CBRELS' lack of track record is balanced against GEMSA's successful one, and
proactive policies and procedures in the U.S., plus CB Richard Ellis'
extensive market knowledge and ground coverage in the U.K.," said Standard &
Poor's servicer analyst Marie-Noelle Brisson, a director in the Structured
Finance ratings group.
The "AVERAGE" ranking reflects the following:
— CBRELS' lack of operating history as an integrated partnership is tempered
by its solid management and professional depth, plus GEMSA's technology and
commitment to sound internal controls.
— CBRELS has a U.K. management team with a depth of knowledge and on average
more than 20 years' experience in commercial real estate. It also benefits
from the additional support of a seasoned team of U.S. senior executives with
experience in loan servicing.
— CBRELS has an appropriate organizational structure to ensure a smooth
workflow and proactively manage the loans.
Standard & Poor's servicer evaluations offer a comprehensive assessment of a
company's operational capabilities, providing a means of benchmarking a
servicer's performance against its peers, industry standards, and prudent
servicing practices.
In its analysis, Standard & Poor's considers several factors including an
organization's background, control environment, staffing, systems, key asset
administration functions, financial profile, and compliance with applicable
laws, regulations, and industry standards to derive an overall servicer
ranking.
The full servicer evaluation report, titled "Servicer Evaluation: CB Richard
Ellis Loan Servicing Ltd." can be found on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's
Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The article can
also be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com.
Select Credit Ratings, then find the article under Servicer Evaluations. For
more details on Standard & Poor's servicer evaluation product, see "Servicer
Evaluation Ranking Criteria", which was published on RatingsDirect in January
2006 and the "Select Servicer List" (published monthly; please click on
Quicklist, then scroll down to Structured Finance). For this report, call:
Client Support Europe on (44) 20-7176-7176. Members of the media may contact
the Press Office Hotline on (44) 20-7176-3605 or via
media_europe@standardandpoors.com. Local media contact numbers are: Paris (33)
1-4420-6657; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm (46) 8-440-5914; or
Moscow (7) 495-783-4017.
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