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Fitch Assigns CMBS Special Servicer Rating to NS Servicing, LLC

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  Published in Business and Finance on Monday, March 21st 2011 at 14:10 GMT by Market Wire
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NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Fitch Ratings assigns NS Servicing, LLC (NSS), a wholly owned subsidiary of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF), a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) special servicer rating of 'CSS3+'.

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF) was formed in October 2003 and on Oct. 29, 2004 the company closed its initial public offering. NSS is headquartered in New York City and they maintain an asset management office in Dallas, TX. To date, NSS has specially serviced commercial real estate assets in its investment portfolio attempting to maximize returns to their portfolio. Since April 2008, they have resolved 108 loans (UPB of $2.8 billion) with an average recovery rate in the mid-70% range that included a variety of property types and geographical diversity. NSS's special servicer rating is based on its deep management team and its experienced asset management staff with solid workout experience through real estate cycles.

Fitch does not publicly rate the credit and financial strength of NRF. However, Fitch's Financial Institutions group reviewed NRF's financial statements to provide an internal assessment, as a company's financial condition is an important component of Fitch's servicer rating analysis.

As of Dec. 31, 2010, NSS was named special servicer on 24 non-CMBS loans totaling $518.8 million. As of the same date, the company was actively special servicing 19 non-CMBS loans totaling $369.3 million and was responsible for seven non-CMBS real estate owned (REO) assets totaling $155.7 million.

The servicer rating is based on the methodology described in Fitch's reports 'U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria,' dated Feb. 18, 2011, and 'Global Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers' dated Aug. 16, 2010, available on Fitch's web site [ www.fitchratings.com ].

Fitch has taken the following rating actions:

NS Servicing, LLC
--Special servicer rating assigned at 'CSS3+'.

Additional information is available at [ www.fitchratings.com ].

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria' Feb. 18, 2011;
--'Global Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers' Aug. 16, 2010.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
U.S. Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria
[ http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=584005 ]
Global Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers
[ http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=547305 ]

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