OREANDA-NEWS. U.S. CMBS delinquencies fell by their largest margin in over a year thanks to high resolution volume and steady new issuance, according to the latest index results from Fitch Ratings.

Loan delinquencies fell 19 basis points (bps) in May to 4.48% from 4.67% a month earlier. The dollar balance of late-pays fell \$646 million to \$17.1 billion from \$17.7 billion in April.

The delinquency drop was driven by resolutions of \$1.03 billion outpacing new delinquencies of \$411 million. Meanwhile, Fitch-rated new issuance volume of \$7.2 billion in April (seven transactions) outpaced \$5.8 billion in portfolio runoff in May causing an increase in the index denominator.

Despite improving month-over-month, retail ended May with the highest delinquency rate of all property types for the first time since Fitch began formally tracking delinquencies (2004). Historically, hotels and multifamily have experienced the highest CMBS delinquency rates.

Current and previous delinquency rates by property type are as follows:

--Retail: 5.26% (from 5.46% in April);
--Hotel: 5.18% (from 5.53%);
--Multifamily: 5.03% (from 5.19%);
--Industrial: 4.97% (from 5.29%);
--Office: 4.77% (from 5.00%);
--Mixed Use: 2.61% (from 2.59%);
--Other: 1.19% (from 1.21%).