In welcome news for Manhattan commercial real estate owners, the amount of sublet space on the market fell in February for the fourth month in a row, according to new data from Cassidy Turley. There were 15.2 million square feet of sublet space available -- mostly from financial companies that are shrinking within their Class A office buildings -- as of the end of the month, down 11 percent from the 17.1 million square feet on the market in October, the data show. Because the available inventory is seen as desirable, the firm is predicting further declines: JPMorgan Chase's 150,000 square feet at 320 Park Avenue is nearing a deal, said Richard Bernstein, a vice chairman at Cassidy Turley, which is also representing the bank in the transaction. Sublet space tends to be cheaper than typical lease space, and has played a large role in depressing office rents across the city. "The absorption of sublet space toward the end of the year will decline [as supply diminishes],"

Sentencing Delayed In $140 Million CU National Mortgage Fraud

A federal court in Newark has rescheduled next week's sentencing for U.S. Mortgage President Michael McGrath in the $140 million fraud at CU National Mortgage until April, when the one-time mortgage executive is expected to be given a long prison sentence. Prosecutors and McGrath have agreed to a sentence of 12 to 20 years in prison, according to sources familiar with the case. The sentence must be accepted by the judge. Meantime, two more of the 28 credit unions defrauded in the scheme, TCT FCU in Ballston Spa, N.Y., and Velocity Community CU of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., have settled their claims with Fannie Mae, which bought their mortgages from McGrath under false pretenses. That makes at least three credit unions that have settled with Fannie, as they join Educational Systems FCU in Maryland. But several other credit unions, some with large claims, are vowing to continue to contest the ownership of their mortgages and of money with Fannie Mae. McGrath pleaded guilty last June to selling as much as $140 million of credit union mortgages to Fannie Mae without the credit unions' authorization and keeping the money. Under his plea agreement, McGrath has agreed to forfeit about $13 million in assets. He apparently lost the remaining funds in the stock market, leaving as much as $125 million of credit unions funds missing. At least two more executives in the company, an accountant and the head of servicing, are also expected to plead guilty in the coming days to being accomplices to the fraud.

FDIC Extends Safe Harbor Policy on Securitizations
 
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has extended its "safe harbor" policy for six months while its board continues to work toward the adoption of new securitization standards.  The safe harbor, which was due to expire March 31, assures investors that the FDIC will not seize or delay payments on securitized assets sold by failed banks and thrifts. The blanket policy applies to all securitized assets. But going forward, FDIC chairman Sheila Bair wants to condition this protection to securitizations that meet certain standards. In November, FDIC issued a proposed rule that outlines new securitization standards, which are designed to prevent a re-occurrence of the originate-to-distribute model that fueled the subprime boom. The standards include risk retention that would require banks to retain 5% of the credit risk when they securitize mortgages and other assets. The comment period on the proposal ended February 22 with the proposal drawing strong opposition from several industry groups. Even FDIC directors are divided on the issue. However, chairman Bair says she cannot ignore the losses FDIC has suffered due to the "misaligned incentives in mortgage finance. We hope to foster a sustainable securitization market that emphasizes transparency, improved clarity in transaction structures and responsibilities," she said. "We appreciate the board's decision to extend the existing Safe Harbor protection to September 30th," said Tom Deutsch of the American Securities Forum. "As our members indicated in our letter to the FDIC last month, the ASF strongly believes the proposals, which include significant preconditions for safe harbor protection, will create substantial uncertainty for investors, thus harming the drive to reopen securitization markets and get credit flowing to Main Street," the AFS executive director said.