Mall owner General Growth Properties Inc, which filed one of the biggest-ever real-estate bankruptcy reorganisations, for months had successfully fended off its large bank creditors.

But the company entered bankruptcy protection Thursday partly because of demands from smaller creditors it concluded couldn't be placated: investors who bought securities backed by General Growth mortgages.

Its capitulation is a warning sign for tens of thousands of owners of office buildings, shopping centers, hotels and other commercial property.

Wall Street Journal