Criimi Mae Hopes Successful 2003 Will Lead to More Successful 2004

The last quarter of 2003 was characterized by, as it had been in previous quarters, a focus on cash flow, net-interest margin and the status of loans in special servicing. "Our net interest margin continued to benefit from low-interest rates and from value-enhancing transactions such as the completed and planned refinancing of our non-core government ensured mortgage portfolios," Criimi Mae chairman and CEO Barry Blattman explained during the call. "The economic environment and nature of the real estate portfolio securing our loans continued to make the exercise of projecting losses challenging, but we continue to take a realistic view based on current estimates of value and workout strategies, and work hard at achieving actual loss realization below the level of our projections."

As for the year 2004, Criimi Mae is forging ahead on solid ground under the leadership of a new management team put together last year. "Our objective is to move on from the phase of stabilizing Criimi, and instead, to focus on where the value is and how to use the platform to create more of it."