Financial Times FT.com

Fitch in fresh mortgage alert

By Saskia Scholtes in New York

Published: April 3 2007 18:50 | Last updated: April 3 2007 18:50

This year’s crop of commercial property mortgages could face sharply higher defaults than in previous years amid pervasive loose lending practices and overconfidence in the sector, according to Fitch Ratings.

The warning echoes the turmoil in the risky US subprime home loan market, where lax underwriting and a sharp slowdown in the housing market have resulted in a steep increase in mortgage payment problems in recent months.

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