Fitch Upgrades 2 & Affirms 5 From AMRESCO Series 1997-2 Mortgage Loan Pass-Through Securities

Business Wire, Dec 29, 2005

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has taken the following actions on AMRESCO series 1997-2:

Group 1

--Classes A-7 and A-8 affirmed at 'AAA';

--Class M-1F affirmed at 'AA ';

--Class M-2F affirmed at 'A '.

Group 2

--Class A-9 is affirmed at 'AAA';

--Class M-1A is upgraded to 'AA from 'AA';

--Class M-2A is upgraded to 'AA ' from 'A'.

Series 1997-2 consists of fixed- and adjustable-rate conventional mortgage loans secured by first and second lien deeds of trust, security deeds, or mortgages.

The affirmations reflect adequate relationships of credit enhancement (CE) consistent to future loss expectations and affect $17 million of outstanding certificates. The upgrades reflect an improvement in the relationship of CE to future loss expectations and affect $7.58 million of outstanding certificates.

Since the stepdown date in July 2000, both series have generally passed triggers enabling principal to be paid to the most subordinate bonds. This has resulted in an accelerated payment of the subordinate bonds. Since both groups targeted OC has reached their respective floor amounts, the OC has been able to increase significantly as a percentage of the declining pool balance.

The mortgage loans from the above transaction are being serviced by various entities: Option One Mortgage Corporation, rated 'RPS1'; Ocwen Financial Corporation, rated 'RPS2'; and Ameriquest Mortgage Company, rated 'RPS2 ' by Fitch. In July 2001, AMRESCO, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Further information regarding current delinquency, loss, and credit enhancement statistics is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria, and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance, and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.