Waterstone Asset Management Obtains Special Servicer Rating From Standard and Poor's

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterstone Asset Management, a subsidiary of Waterstone Capital Advisors, is pleased to announce that it recently received its Special Servicer rating from Standard & Poor's.

"We are very pleased to receive our new commercial mortgage special servicer rating. The present marketplace for commercial mortgages and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is a space in need of additional capacity for workout of distressed debt as more and more commercial mortgage loans in default or at risk of imminent default are being transferred to special servicers," said John Church, CEO. "One of our competitive advantages is the fact that we are not burdened by legacy assets. We are bringing a team of seasoned commercial real estate professionals to the special servicing market, ready to pick up business and address the growing volume of distressed loans on behalf of investors," said Church. "This includes investors in CMBS securities who find themselves as the new Controlling Class Representative for the CMBS trust, with the resulting need to appoint a new special servicer," Church continues.

While prepared to handle loans owned by CMBS trusts, Waterstone Asset Management also is actively pursuing the servicing and asset management of loan pools from failed banks being sold by the FDIC and from other financial institutions seeking to dispose of certain loans on their balance sheets. "We are working with a number of debt funds and investors that are bidding on distressed loan sales in the market and need servicing and asset management capacity once they win the deal," said Steve Hall, Managing Director.

Waterstone has recently installed Cassiopae's loan servicing technology; a scalable web-based commercial loan servicing platform that manages any asset type with a cash flow component, including all types of real estate debt such as CMBS and bank loans. "One of the unique features we offer is customizable dashboard-oriented reporting, providing a valuable asset management tool critical to our client's success," said Hall.

Waterstone Asset Management currently has 28 employees, in addition to a complement of 75+ experienced contract professionals. Waterstone was formed in 2004 by a core group of senior Wachovia Securities professionals, initially entering the commercial real estate capital markets as a successful CMBS defeasance advisor. More recently, Waterstone has expanded into a wider range of business lines, including primary servicing, special servicing, REO asset management, due diligence, underwriting, and consulting. At present, Waterstone has $500 million of REO assets under management.

About Waterstone Asset Management

Waterstone Asset Management is a real estate services firm specializing in performing and non-performing commercial real estate assets. In addition to servicing and asset management, Waterstone is positioned to partner with investors to source, screen, and evaluate prospective acquisitions. Through leveraging its people, processes, and technology, Waterstone delivers "best in class" service to its clients.

SOURCE Waterstone Asset Management