Fitch Downgrades & Removes Indymac's Servicer Ratings from Watch Negative

Business Wire,  July 14, 2008  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded and removed from Rating Watch Negative IndyMac Bank, FSB's (IndyMac) residential servicer ratings as follows:

--Primary servicer rating for Alt-A product to 'RPS5' from 'RPS3;

--Primary servicer rating for subprime product to 'RPS5' from 'RPS3';

--Primary servicer rating for prime product to 'RPS5' from RPS3+';

--Special servicer rating to 'RSS5' from 'RSS3'.

As a result of the servicer ratings being downgraded to the lowest rating, they have been removed from Rating Watch Negative, where they were originally placed on Sept. 28, 2007.

The servicer rating actions are being taken following the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) announcement that the bank was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) on July 11, 2008. The FDIC, as conservator, will transfer insured deposits and substantially all the assets of Indymac Bank to IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB (assuming bank) and will operate the assuming bank. Earlier today, Fitch downgraded the long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of Indymac to 'D' from 'CCC', and the company's parent, Indymac Bancorp (IMB) to 'C' from 'CC'. A company's financial condition is an important component of Fitch's servicer rating analysis. To the extent additional information is obtained regarding the FDIC's actions for the servicing platform, Fitch will provide further commentary.

Fitch rates residential mortgage primary, master, and special servicers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest rating. Within some of these rating levels, Fitch further differentiates ratings by plus (+) and minus (-) as well as the flat rating. For more information on Fitch's residential servicer rating program, please see Fitch's report 'Rating U.S. Residential Mortgage Servicers', dated Nov. 29, 2006, which 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.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning