ABFC ABS Class Downgraded

Class B of ABFC mortgage loan asset-backed certificates, series 2001-AQ1, has been downgraded from Baa2 to Ba2 by Moody's Investors Service.Moody's also upgraded four classes and confirmed one class from Ameriquest Mortgage Co. asset-backed securitization deals from 2001. The transactions consist of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate first-lien subprime mortgage loans. Ameriquest is the servicer and the originator on the transactions. The downgrade was attributed to credit enhancement levels that were deemed to be low given the projected losses on the underlying pools. "The transaction has taken losses, and pipeline loss could cause eventual erosion of the overcollateralization," Moody's said. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.