Fitch Lowers Accredited's Servicer Rating

Fitch Ratings has lowered the residential primary servicer rating of Accredited Home Lenders Inc. from RPS3-plus to RPS3-minus for subprime loans.The rating agency said the downgrade was based on "the challenging operating environment in the subprime mortgage market and uncertainties over [Accredited's] ability to maintain adequate funding and remain viable over the intermediate term." Fitch noted that Accredited announced March 16 that it had reached an agreement to sell $2.7 billion of loans at a discount in order to alleviate pressure from margin calls. The rating agency also noted the company's March 20 announcement of a commitment for a $200 million term loan from entities managed by Farallon Capital Management LLC. Fitch rates residential servicers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest rating.