Fitch: Australian SF Ratings Stable in 4Q15

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)SYDNEY/HONG KONG, January 18 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings says that structured finance (SF) transactions in Australia and New Zealand remained stable in 4Q15 with a total of 188 tranches from 65 transactions affirmed as a result of continued stable and strong asset performance. Of these, six ratings from one transaction were withdrawn following a restructure. Two tranches from an RMBS transaction were downgraded during the quarter.The strong asset performance reflected the local economic environment. Both the Australian and New Zealand housing markets 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.Two notes from Interstar Millennium Series 2005-3E Trust (Class A2, AB) were downgraded in December 2015 as 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. The ratings on six Bluestone Mortgages Warehouse Trust tranches were affirmed and simultaneously withdrawn due to a restructure of the facility. Final ratings were assigned to the notes issued from the new structure.The ratings of all notes issued from the credit card transaction Q Card Trust were confirmed in November 2015 following a tap issuance of NZD50m.All of the rating affirmations in 4Q15 were for Australian transactions. Prime RMBS ratings (97 - including the six ratings simultaneously withdrawn) and auto ABS (91) accounted for most of the affirmations. Three ratings from Flexi ABS Trust 2014-1 are currently assigned Positive Outlooks. The outlooks on all other SF ratings in Australia and New Zealand are Stable.The transactions reviewed during the quarter made up approximately 34% of the 190 Fitch publicly rated Australian and New Zealand SF transactions outstanding at end-3Q15. Individual rating action commentaries relating to specific rating actions can be found on Fitch's website at www.fitchratings.com. Contacts:Hai Duong LeDirector+61 2 8256 0358Fitch Australia Pty Ltd.Level 15, 77 King St, Sydney, NSW 2000 Alison HoSenior Director+852 2263 9937Media Relations: Leni Vu, Sydney, Tel: +61 2 8256 0304, Email: leni.vu@fitchratings.com.Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com. Related Research:Fitch: APAC SF Ratings Mostly Stable in 4Q15; 1 Upgrade, 2 Downgrades, published 18 January 2016Fitch: Japanese SF Ratings Stable in 4Q15; Monitoring Account Bank Replacement, published 18 January 2016ALL 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 FREE WEB SITE AT 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. Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services licence (AFS licence no. 337123) which authorises it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001.