CRE

The big question is whether commercial real estate lending standards became as absurd as residential mortgage lending standards.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada's foreclosure crisis claimed a high-profile victim on Wednesday, as investment bank Deutsche Bank took the first step toward foreclosing on the $3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino project.

Developer and owner Ian Bruce Eichner said his company, 3700 Associates LLC, was working with Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch to find new investors. The construction loan from Deutsche Bank of $760 million went into default Wednesday, the company said.

"This action by our lender comes as no surprise," Eichner said in a statement to The Associated Press. "With the current challenges within the real estate and debt capital markets, which are out of our control ... we both anticipated and planned for this.