Moody's Downgrades PHH Debt

The senior unsecured debt ratings of PHH Corp., Mount Laurel, N.J., have been lowered from Baa1 to Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, and PHH's commercial paper program has been downgraded from Prime-2 to Prime-3.The outlook is stable, Moody's said. The downgrades follow an announcement that Cendant Corp. has completed the spinoff of PHH and its mortgage banking and fleet management businesses to shareholders. "These rating downgrades are reflective of the rating agency's assessment that, following the spinoff, PHH will have diminished credit strength due to reduced business and cash flow diversity, and a smaller operating and capital base," Moody's said. The stable outlook reflects an expectation that PHH will focus on maintaining a stable capital structure while leveraging its relationship with Cendant's relocation and real estate businesses, and on preserving liquidity and the stability of its funding sources, the rating agency said. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.