ms. thompson, did you have something else to add? >> i think you're referring to an equity trust transaction. this was a type of transaction used at the resolution trust corporation. again, that was for failed assets where the assets were sold into a trust where some were performing and others not, and the government took a percentage share of the downside and the upside and that works well for assets from failed institutions. i'm not necessarily sure that's necessary right now because the market is starting to open up. some of the problem banks are raising capital, and we are seeing slow sign of asset sale, and as i mentioned earlier, the cmbs market is starting to slowly come back. especially in the cmbs market, the special servicers have flexibility to work out the loans as do banks that have a commercial real estate in their port dpoal owe. i think the transaction itself has been done, and i think that it's a good mechanism, but i'm not sure it's necessary for an open market. >> okay, okay. fair enough. my time is up. my take awa

we'll start with ms. thompson. >> good morning. i appreciate the testimony to testify on bhaft of the fdic regarding the condition of the commercial real estate market and its relationship to the overall stability of the financial system. the events surrounding the recent financial crisis have taken a heavy toll on economic activity across our nation. the past three years have been difficult for many institutions that focus on cre lending, especially in home construction. in 2009, there were 140 bank failures, last year, 157 banks failed, and many of those failures were caused by losses on construction loans that were made during the boom years before the crisis. some community banks with cre concentrations continue to experience elevated losses. the stressed cre loan exposures take time to work out, and in some cases, require restructuring to establish a more realistic and sustainable repayment program. some loans may not be able to be modified and must be written off. this process of prompt lost recognition and restructuring pain