Fitch: APAC SF Ratings Mostly Stable in 4Q15; 1 Upgrade, 2 Downgrades

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)HONG KONG, January 18 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings says 210 Asia-Pacific (APAC) structured finance (SF) tranches were affirmed in 4Q15. One rating was upgraded and two were downgraded during the quarter. Six of the ratings that were affirmed during the quarter were simultaneously withdrawn as an Australian RMBS warehouse was restructured.The upgrade was to the class D notes of L-MAP One Funding Limited and reflected growth in credit enhancement. The downgraded notes were from Interstar Millennium Series 2005-3E Trust (Class A2, AB) where remedial action following the downgrade of the currency swap provider, The Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) PLC (BBB+/Stable/F2) was not in line with current Fitch criteria. Of the affirmations, 97 were prime RMBS backed by Australian properties (six of which were simultaneously withdrawn), 91 were Australian auto ABS, 10 were CMBS backed by Japanese properties, 6 were RMBS backed by loans in Japan. The remaining affirmations were to ABS ratings from Korea (3) and India (3).The strong asset performance in Australia and New Zealand reflected the local economic environment. Housing markets in both countries remained strong and property price appreciation has been significant over the past couple of years. Stable interest rates have also helped to reduce volatility in mortgage performance.In December 2015, an account bank for eight Japanese SF transactions was downgraded. Under Fitch's SF counterparty criteria, account banks rated below 'A' and 'F1' are deemed ineligible to support notes rated 'AAAsf'. The 'AAAsf' notes from the affected transactions are therefore at risk of downgrade, unless remedial action is taken in a timely manner. Fitch understands that the process of replacing the downgraded account bank with an eligible counterparty is underway.Most long-term ratings in APAC have Stable Outlooks. The exceptions are Positive Outlooks on three Australian ABS tranches and one structured credit rating. Individual rating action commentaries relating to specific rating actions can be found on Fitch's website at www.fitchratings.com. Contacts:Alison HoSenior Director+852 2263 9937Fitch (Hong Kong) Limited19/F Man Yee Building68 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong Ben McCarthyManaging Director+61 2 8256 0388Media Relations: Leslie Tan, Singapore, Tel: +65 67 96 7234, Email: leslie.tan@fitchratings.com; Leni Vu, Sydney, Tel: +61 2 8256 0304, Email: leni.vu@fitchratings.com; Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com.Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.Related Research:Fitch: Australian SF Ratings Stable in 4Q15, published 18 January 2016Fitch: Japanese SF Ratings Stable in 4Q15; Monitoring Account Bank Replacement, published 18 January 2016Fitch Monitoring Impact on Japanese SF of Major Bank Downgrade, published 20 December 2015ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE '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. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.