Multifamily, hotel loan delinquencies rise - Fitch

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Multifamily property and hotels slightly pushed up the overall rate of delinquencies on commercial mortgage-backed securities last month, Fitch Ratings said on Friday.

U.S. CMBS delinquencies rose to 0.3 percent, up from the historic low of 0.27 percent, according to Fitch's loan delinquency index.

Delinquent multifamily loans, which cover apartment complexes, rose 14.5 percent in February, Fitch said. Defaults on hotel loans and retail properties increased by 14.6 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, the rating company said.

Loans secured by office buildings performed better, with delinquencies falling 1.1 percent in February, it said.

Commercial mortgage bonds have been hammered this year amid concern that loose underwriting practices through mid-2007 produced riskier loans unable to withstand declines in prices and a U.S. recession. Rating companies and Wall Street analysts expect delinquencies to rise, but not reach the rates that have produced a crisis in residential mortgages.

(Reporting by Al Yoon, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)