CMBS write-down coming at Wachovia?

Analysts say Wachovia may have losses lurking in an area that has garnered less investor attention. Wachovia has in recent years aggressively tried to add market share by underwriting commercial mortgage-backed securities. Demand for such securities has slid amid credit concerns, leaving dealers struggling to unload loans whose quality might be perceived as less sound than investors now demand. Analysts have estimated Wachovia's net CMBS exposure at about $9 billion. They say Wachovia could face a related fourth-quarter write-down as large as $1.5 billion. "CMBS-related write-downs may wipe out earnings" in the quarter, wrote Howard Mason, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.