Update: The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: A Fitch Ratings Webcast & Teleconference

Business Wire, April 24, 2006

NEW YORK -- (This is an amended version of a press release issued today. It contains an updated Webcast hyperlink URL).

Fitch Ratings, on Thursday, April 27 at 11:30 a.m. EDT, will hold an audio webcast and teleconference to provide its views on the after effects of Hurricane Katrina and the repercussions in the region.

Specifically, analysts from Fitch's U.S. Public Finance, Insurance and Structured Finance teams will speak to New Orleans-area municipalities, the State of Louisiana, insurance-related issues, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and asset-backed securities (ABS) markets.

Prepared remarks across all markets are expected to last approximately 30 minutes with a Q&A session immediately following. Participants should log and dial-in 10 to 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. Audio webcast listeners may pose questions via computer; teleconference participants may pose questions via the event operator. All Fitch webcasts are available for replay.

Audio Webcast:

The event will be presented simultaneously as an audio webcast and as a teleconference. To register for the webcast, please visit: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=33429.

Teleconference:

For U.S. participants who prefer to listen to the event by telephone, please dial 866-337-6663; all other callers should dial 904-596-2360. No PIN code is necessary. Presentation slides will be available. However, to view analyst slides, teleconference users must register via the above link.

The following Fitch analysts are scheduled to speak during the April 27 event:

U.S. Public Finance

--David Litvack, Managing Director (Moderator);

--Steve Murray, Senior Director (Local New Orleans-area municipalities);

--Laura Porter, Director (State of Louisiana).

Insurance

--Donald Thorpe, Senior Director (North American Insurance Group).

Structured Finance

--Patricia Bach, Senior Director (CMBS);

--Grant Bailey, Director (RMBS);

--Kevin D'Albert, Director (ABS).

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.