Fitch Downgrades 1 Class of First Union Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 1997-2

Business Wire, Sept 16, 2005

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded the following First Union Home Equity Loan Trust, series 1997-2 issue:

-- Class B to 'C' from 'CCC'.

All of the mortgages in the aforementioned transaction consist of fixed-rate and balloon mortgages extended to subprime borrowers.

The downgrade, affecting approximately $14.91 million of outstanding certificates, is a result of the poor performance of the collateral. Insufficient credit enhancement on the certificate has resulted in principal reductions of the bond balance. Currently, the deal has approximately $1.86 million in foreclosure and real estate owned and may sustain future losses. The pool factor (i.e. current mortgage loans outstanding as a percentage of the initial pool) for this deal is 6% and is 95 months seasoned.

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.