Foreign investment bankers have long advocated the development of a market in securities tied to Japan's large pool of nonperforming real estate debt.

The large number of Hong Kong residents who own their own apartments feel much poorer, and banks are worried about bad real estate debt.

Cooley filed for bankruptcy in 1988 citing real estate debts during a market downturn.

Ritchie turned around ranch operations during the 1940s, having overcome the effects of his grandmother's estate debts, the Great Depression, and drought.

"There's $260 billion of commercial real estate debt maturing between March 1992 and June 1993, and nobody's lending money anymore."

Banks, shellshocked by a barrage of bad real estate debt in the late 1980's, are still reluctant to lend.

Olympia & York is carrying about $15 billion in real estate debt and more than $3 billion more on its oil and gas subsidiaries.

The firm launched its first fund in 2000 and today specializes in corporate credit, event-driven, real estate debt, equity, and equity-linked funds.

The RTC decides to sell the massive amount of bad real estate debt it holds to investors.

In addition, the due date for about $2.6 billion in the real estate debt, including substantial interest, and other bank loans was put off until October 1997.