CRIIMI MAE refinances $202 million of floating-rate debt, replacing it with long-term, fixed-rate debt.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 1995--(NYSE:CMM)-- CRIIMI MAE Inc., a self-managed, self-administered multifamily mortgage real estate investment trust, has refinanced approximately $202 million of its floating-rate debt, replacing it with long-term, fixed-rate financing.

CRIIMI MAE refinanced the floating-rate debt using most of the approximately $240 million of net proceeds from the sale of a long-term, fixed-rate funding note by its wholly-owned financing subsidiary, CRIIMI MAE Financial Corporation II, to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).

Freddie Mac purchased the funding note using the net proceeds of a public offering of long-term, fixed-rate pass-through debt securities issued and guaranteed by Freddie Mac.

The new debt obligation of CRIIMI MAE's financing subsidiary has a fixed interest rate of seven percent, a maturity date of Sept. 17, 2031, and an expected weighted average life of approximately 20 years.

CRIIMI MAE Chairman William B. Dockser said, "This transaction, coupled with a second transaction, will result in the refinancing of approximately 60 percent of CRIIMI MAE's current floating-rate debt and replacing it with long-term, fixed-rate debt. The objective is to better match the maturity dates of CRIIMI MAE's long-term assets with the maturity dates of its liabilities and thereby reduce the impact of interest rate fluctuations on earnings."

During September, a separate financing subsidiary of CRIIMI MAE filed an amended registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer approximately $216 million of fixed-rate collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs). The revised total is approximately $20 million more than the original filing.

That offering, which would be collateralized with the majority of CRIIMI MAE's holdings of FHA-insured multifamily mortgages and certain GNMA multifamily securities, is expected to be declared effective by the SEC and offered for sale during the next several weeks.

After using a significant portion of the proceeds of the Freddie Mac transaction and the CMOs for refinancing floating-rate debt, CRIIMI MAE intends to use the remaining proceeds, after paying transaction costs, for corporate purposes that may include investing in subordinated securities, as well as acquiring mortgage servicing rights on pools of multifamily and other commercial mortgages and acquiring related mortgage businesses.

Until investing the remaining net proceeds, CRIIMI MAE will use that cash to temporarily pay down short-term debt.

CRIIMI MAE Inc. is the largest multifamily mortgage REIT. Total consolidated assets at June 30, 1995 were approximately $977 million. CRIIMI MAE s mortgage servicing portfolio totals approximately $900 million.

The registration statement relating to the $216 million of CMOs has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor any offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities of any such state.

CONTACT: CRIIMI MAE Inc., Rockville

James Pastore, 202/546-6451 or

Susan Railey, 301/468-3120