Voltron says: Bond rating agency, Fitch, breaks from the pack and begins saying what everyone already knows. These mortgage bonds are crap. This will put pressure on MBIA and Moody’s
"I don't know if it's going to be a majority or not but I think a large number of the [Alt-A] senior classes are facing downgrade pressure."
Grant Bailey, a senior director at Fitch, May 30, 2008
From Bloomberg: Fitch Changes Method of Rating Alt-A Mortgage Bond
Fitch Ratings modified how it assesses outstanding securities backed by Alt-A U.S. mortgages by starting to update projections for losses from non-delinquent loans instead of keeping estimates static from the time of issuance.
A record jump in delinquencies and defaults prompted the change ... Borrowers are at least 60 days late on 11 percent of adjustable-rate Alt-A loans backing bonds created in 2006 and rated by the firm, compared with a historical average of 1 percent to 2 percent.
...
The firm hasn't yet decided whether to use its new surveillance approach on prime-jumbo mortgage securities, Barberio said....
The Fitch analysts weren't able to immediately say how many Alt-A securities from the past three years have been downgraded. Most of the non-AAA bonds were lowered and others remain under review, they said.
Top-rated securities accounted for about 90 percent of the debt created in Alt-A deals. The company will downgrade many over the next few months, [Grant Bailey, a senior director at Fitch] said.
``I don't know if it's going to be a majority or not but I think a large number of the senior classes are facing downgrade pressure,'' he said.
More downgrades coming ...
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