UPDATE 2-RBS Commercial Funding prices $309.7 mln CMBS

(Adds pricing details)

By Nancy Leinfuss

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - RBS Commercial Funding on Friday priced a $309.7 million commercial mortgage-backed securities offering backed by multiple loans, the first sale of its kind in nearly two years and a benchmark for the recovering market.

The so-called conduit deal is seen as a key gauge of risk appetite for securities tied to the troubled commercial real estate market, as well as investor confidence in better underwriting standards for loans.

The offering is also being priced without the help of the Federal Reserve's emergency loan program, which expires in June for new-issue CMBS.

The securitization is backed by 81 commercial properties in states that include Texas, New York, Missouri, Wisconsin and New Jersey. It is the first multi-loan sale since 2008, when the financial crisis and slowing economic growth began to upset the $700 billion CMBS market.

The deal's largest $220.3 million AAA-rated 4.93-year tranche was priced at a 90-basis-points spread over interpolated swaps, while a smaller $20.4 million AAA-rated 2.51-year issue priced at a spread of 80 basis points over interpolated swaps, market sources said.

Also included in the sale was a AA-rated 4.98-year issue that priced at a spread of 190 over swaps, an A-rated 4.98-year issue priced at a spread of 290 basis points over swaps and a BBB-rated issue that priced at a spread of 425 basis points over swaps, the sources said.

RBS Commercial Funding's sale follows two single-issuer CMBS deals that were sold in December 2009. The latest sale reflects the improved tone in the secondary market, where spreads continue to trade tighter.

Two non-TALF sales were sold late last year as conditions in the CMBS market began to improve. JPMorgan Chase underwrote Inland Western's $500 million CMBS offering, backed by the Inland Western Real Estate Trust. Its two top tranches sold at spreads of 150 and 205 basis points over swaps respectively, market sources said.

In addition, Banc of America Securities underwrote Fortress Investment Group's $460 million AAA-rated issue at a spread of 225 basis points over swaps, sources said. (Additional reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by Andrew Hay)