Commercial and multifamily mortgages outperformed other loan types as their delinquency rates fell in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. 

 The trade group said the delinquency rate for multifamily loans more than 60 days late insured or held by Freddie Mac declined 0.11 percentage points to 0.22%, and the rate for loans more than 90 days in arrears and held by FDIC-insured banks and thrifts fell slighly to 3.55%.The delinquency rate for loans more than 60 days late and held by life insurance companies declined to 0.17% in the fourth quarter.Loans more than 30 days delinquent in commercial mortgage-backed securities fell 0.36 percentage points to 8.56%, while the rate for multifamily loans with at least two missed payments held or insured by Fannie Mae increased 0.02 percentage points to 0.59%.The report suggests commercial and multifamily loans fared better during the recession and credit crunch with the sector having the lowest charge-off rates of any loan type held by banks and thrifts in 2011.Charge-off rates declined to 0.84% of commercial mortgages and 0.74% of multifamily loans last year. That is improved from charge-off rates of 1.22% and 1.24%, respectively, in 2010.