The first two US commercial mortgage backed securities deals to be sold this year are now in the market awaiting pricing in a closely-watched development that could indicate sentiment for a pipeline worth $43.5bn (€30bn) of such deals this year.

Commercial mortgage backed securities are backed by loans secured with commercial property. The first issues of the year have coincided with extreme stress in the market. Last week 10-year AAA super senior spreads to swaps, deemed high quality, widened 65 basis points to 220 basis points indicating investors are pricing in further deterioration in the performance of these assets.