CENTURY CITY, CA-“There will be no avalanche of deals. If it wasgoing to happen, it would have already happened,” said experts atIMN’s Second Bank & Special Asset Executive Forum on DistressedAssets. The event, which attracted approximately 370 attendees,brought together experts reflecting a wide range of perspectives,all pretty much agreeing on one thing: “We will be better off whenit is all over,” or as one panelist put it, “We will be better offin the long run once we get through the current environmenttoday.”

IMN held the first bank and special executive conference back inNew York City in April, and it was attended by over 450 real estateinvestors and service providers including over 60 bank workout,special servicing, REO and special asset workout professionals. Thesecond conference of its kind, held this past Monday and Tuesday,also drew a wide range of participants, with panel participantsfrom all types of firms. The opening panel, titled: The Economy andIts Impact on Real Estate Workouts & Banks, for example,included session chair, John Cuticelli, CEO of Sheldon Good &Co., and panelists: Richard Hollowell, managing director & realestate practice lead at BBK; Douglas Wilson, chairman and CEO ofDouglas Wilson Cos.; Yelena Takhtamanova, economist at the FederalReserve Bank of San Francisco; Robert Sheridan, principal and CEOof Robert Sheridan & Partners LLC; and Robert Kline, principaland CEO of R.W. Kline Cos.

Panelists from the opening session pointed out that as far asdeals go, on the CMBS side at least, “there are deals gettingdone,” however they added that “there aren’t a whole lot ofthem.”