Fitch Ratings has affirmed and subsequently withdrawn Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.'s U.S. residential primary and special servicer ratings as follows:
--Residential primary servicer rating for Prime product at 'RPS1-';
--Residential primary servicer rating for Alt-A product at 'RPS2+';
--Residential primary servicer rating for Subprime product at 'RPS2+';
--Residential primary servicer rating for HELOC product at 'RPS2+';
--Residential special servicer rating at 'RSS2+';
In addition, Fitch has withdrawn Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.'s U.S. residential master servicer rating as follows:
--Residential master servicer rating at 'RMS2+'.
The primary and special servicer rating actions reflect the acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries including Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (Countrywide) by the Bank of America Corporation (BAC) in July 2008. The withdrawal of the master servicer rating is based on the fact that there is insufficient information to maintain the rating. BAC is maintaining the Countrywide servicing platform under the new name, BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (see Fitch's press release on BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP's servicer ratings dated Dec. 22, 2009). In addition, the ratings were determined in accordance with Fitch's criteria 'Rating U.S. Residential Mortgage Servicers' and 'Global Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers'.
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 and 'Global Rating Criteria for Structured Finance Servicers' dated Sept. 30, 2009, which are available on the Fitch Ratings web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
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Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com