Bristol CDO Classes Downgraded

Two classes of notes issued by Bristol CDO I Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.Class B was downgraded from AA to A-plus, and class C was downgraded from BBB to B. In addition, the ratings on classes A-1 and A-2 in the deal were affirmed. The collateralized debt obligation is secured by a static pool of asset-backed securities, of which 41.9% are residential mortgage-backed securities, Fitch said. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to a deterioration in collateral, reporting that the overcollateralization ratio of class C has fallen below its minimum threshold of 102% since November 2003. "There have been two assets that have defaulted, totaling $11 million in par value," Fitch said. "In addition, Bristol has exposure to volatile ABS sectors such as manufactured housing (11%) and aircraft lease pools (7.7%)." Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.