CB Richard Ellis quits real estate financing *

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The world’s largest commercial real brokerage, Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Inc., bailed out of the real estate financing business today and paid the price with Wall Street. The company announced this morning that it would end its agreement to manage CBRE Realty Finance Inc. at the end of the year. CBRE Realty Finance, headquartered in Hartford, Conn., offers loans and invests in commercial real estate such as offices, hotels and apartments.

Shares of CBRE Realty Finance, which operates separately, have fallen 84% in the last 12 months. The finance company said today that it had lost $55 million in the third quarter and that the value of its investment portfolio had fallen by almost $95 million since June 30.

It had $1.4 billion in assets as of September. The company plans to change its name to Realty Finance Corp. next year. Shares of CB Richard Ellis were down 13% to $6.54 at noon.

* Update: At the end of trading, CBRE stock recovered somewhat, closing down 4.5% at $7.17.

-- Roger Vincent