Moody's Eyes 128 Conseco MH Classes

The ratings on 128 classes from 43 manufactured housing deals by Conseco Finance Corp. (formerly Green Tree Financial Corp.) have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.The actions were prompted by high levels of cumulative repossessions and losses, Moody's said. The repossessions were triggered by the company's suspension of its repossessed refinancing and default transfer-of-equity programs as well as poor industry conditions, the rating agency said. The suspension of the DTOE program "caused repossessions to spike because loans previously eligible for this program had to be reclassified as repossessions," Moody's said. "In addition, since Conseco's exit from the MH origination business, the company has been forced to liquidate repossessed units through wholesale channels rather than retail channels," Moody's said. This led to lower recovery rates and higher loss severities. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.