ABSC Classes Downgraded

Five classes of Asset Backed Securities Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and two classes have been removed from Rating Watch Negative.The downgrades were as follows: series 2001-HE1, class M-2, from A to BBB-plus, and class B, from BBB-minus to BB; series 2002-HE2, class B, from BBB-minus to BB-minus; and series 2003-HE1, class M-3, from BBB to BB, and class M-4, from BBB-minus to BB-minus. The two classes from series 2003-HE1 were also removed from Rating Watch Negative. In addition, Fitch affirmed the ratings on four classes in the three ABSC deals. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to a deterioration in the relationship between loss expectations and credit enhancement. The transactions consist of fixed- and adjustable-rate subprime residential mortgage loans. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.