Since late August commercial mortgage-backed securities prices have fallen sharply. Lenders such as Capital America, which had been originating loans with securitization in mind, found themselves unable to sell those loans at a profit. Two weeks ago Ethan Penner, Capital America's vice chairman and one of the inventors of commercial mortgage securitization, resigned. Shortly afterward the firm announced $275 million in losses. Last week Nomura Securities propped up its U.S. unit with $380 million of equity and $150 million of debt, and two top U.S. Nomura executives resigned.