MOODY'S RATES ABFC 2004-OPT2 SUBPRIME MORTGAGE DEAL Aaa
Approximately $487 Million of Asset-Backed Securities Rated
New York, April 08, 2004 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a rating of Aaa to the senior certificates
in ABFC 2004-OPT2. The securitization is backed by Option
One Mortgage Corporation (Option One) originated or acquired adjustable-rate
(61%) and fixed-rate (39%) subprime mortgage loans.
In addition, Moody's also assigned ratings ranging from Aa2 to Ba1
to subordinate certificates issued in the securitization. The ratings
are based primarily on the credit quality of loans, subordination,
overcollateralization (OC), excess spread, and mortgage insurance.
Moody's Assistant Vice President - Analyst, Joe Grohotolski,
indicates that in general the credit quality of the loans backing ABFC
2004-OPT2 is in line with the average loan pool backing recent
subprime securitizations, without taking into account the benefit
of the mortgage insurance. The presence of mortgage insurance on
the loans with higher loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) reduces
the severity of loss associated with many of the riskier loans,
ultimately improving the credit quality of the loan pool.
As of the cut-off date, approximately 27% of the loans
backing the securitization are covered by mortgage insurance. Eligible
loans are covered against default down to 60% LTV. The mortgage
insurance provider is PMI Mortgage Insurance Co (PMI) which has an insurance
financial strength rating of Aa2 by Moody's. Any change in
PMI's insurance financial strength rating could result in a change
to the ratings assigned to the offered certificates.
As of the cut-off date, the loan pools FICO score is approximately
613 and the original loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is 78%.
Stronger attributes associated with the loan pool include a high percentage
of owner occupied properties (94%) and Option One's solid
loan performance to date. Historically, Option One's
subprime pools generally experience lower cumulative losses than the average
subprime pool. A weaker aspect associated with the loan pool involves
the severity of loss often associated with the moderately high concentration
of multi-family properties (12%).
The credit quality of the underlying pool benefits from Option One's consistent
underwriting and origination practices. The company's conservative
stance on exception underwriting and its strong quality control standards
are prominent among these practices.
THE COMPLETE RATING ACTIONS:
Issuer: ABFC 2004-OPT2 Trust
Securities: ABFC Asset-Backed Certificates, Series
2004-OPT2
Originator/Master Servicer: Option One Mortgage Corporation
Class A-1, $317,967,000, Super Senior
P&I, LIBOR+0.29%, rated Aaa
Class A-1A, $35,330,000, Super Senior
Support P&I, LIBOR+0.39%, rated Aaa
Class A-2, $58,606,000, Senior P&I,
LIBOR+0.28%, rated Aaa
Class M-1, $26,969,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+0.55%, rated Aa2
Class M-2, $21,576,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+1.00%, rated A2
Class M-3, $5,394,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+1.20%, rated A3
Class M-4, $6,130,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+1.55%, rated Baa1
Class M-5, $4,168,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+1.65%, rated Baa2
Class M-6, $6,129,000, Subordinate
P&I, LIBOR+2.95%, rated Baa3
Class B, $4,904,000, Subordinate P&I,
LIBOR+3.50%, rated Ba1
SERVICER
Option One Mortgage Corporation (Option One) will service the loans.
Moody's has assigned Option One its top servicer quality rating (SQ1)
as a primary servicer of subprime loans. Option One's SQ1 rating
is based on its strong ability as a primary servicer and the stability
of its servicing operations. Option One is particularly strong
in the early stage of collections, an area of particular importance
for a primary servicer.
Option One, a California-based company with offices throughout
the United States, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Block Financial,
which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of H & R Block.
Additional research is available on http://www.moodys.com.
New York
Pramila Gupta
Managing Director
Structured Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
New York
Joseph Grohotolski
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Structured Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653