Bangkok--27 May--Standard & Poor's
Single-family loan delinquencies in U.S. housing finance agency (HFA) bond programs exceeded those of comparable state loans for the second quarter in a row in fourth-quarter 2010, according to a report published today on RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal.
The report, titled "U.S. Housing Finance Agencies Continue To Outpace States In Single-Family Loan Delinquency," cites the issuance of bonds under the new issue bond program, HFAs' loss mitigation efforts, and HFA loans' high loan-to-value ratios as factors in the deteriorating loan performance.
In addition, the persistently high unemployment rate in the U.S. coupled with the slow recovery in the housing market has added to the pressure on loan performance for both HFA and state loans. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services does not expect deteriorating loan performance to cause negative rating actions on its own. However, it can have an impact on reserves, which is one of the factors we look at when assigning and assessing our ratings.
"We believe that delinquency rates will remain high in large part because unemployment is stagnant at nearly 9% nationally," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Lawrence Witte. "Based on our economic outlook, high delinquency could affect HFAs for a few more years," Witte added.
The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280 or sending an e-mail to
[email protected]. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York (1) 212-438-6634,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Lawrence Witte, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5037
Valerie White, New York (1) 212-438-2078
Jose Cruz, San Francisco 415-371-5053