S&P Stepped Up ABS Ratings in Early 2013, MBS Rating Share More Diluted
May 10, 2013
Standard & Poors was the most active rating service in the non-mortgage ABS market during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis, while DBRS continued to dominate the non-agency MBS space. S&P rated a total of $31.9 billion of newly issued ABS during the first three months of the year, or 67.8 percent of total issuance. That was up from the companys 58.1 percent share of ABS ratings for all of 2012. S&P was particularly strong in rating credit card ABS, covering 86.1 percent of that market after grading just 50.3 percent of last years card deals. Because nearly all public deals have multiple ratings, the sum of the ratings by firms exceeds...[Includes two data charts]