Fitch Unveils Distressed Recovery Ratings

Fitch Ratings has announced the introduction of Distressed Recovery ratings for U.S. and European structured finance transactions (including residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities) that are designed to estimate recoveries for distressed and defaulted securities.Fitch said the new DRs will affect 314 RMBS transactions, 60 CMBS deals, 64 asset-backed securities deals, and 101 collateralized debt obligations. Olivier Delfour, a Fitch managing director, said the new ratings are "part of an effort to provide an enhanced analytical approach" to structured finance securities that are rated B or below and are distressed or defaulted. The ratings will range from DR1 (the highest) to DR6 to designate a transaction's recovery prospects. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.