Moody's Eyes MBS Linked to New Century

Three tranches of mortgage- and asset-backed securities containing collateral originated by New Century Mortgage Corp. have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.The affected securities are: class B of Asset Backed Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust, series 2001-HE1; and classes B-1 and B-2 of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Inc., series 2002-NC4. The rating actions were based on low credit enhancement levels in relation to projected losses, Moody's said. "These deals are not performing as anticipated due to the increasing cumulative loss percentage, rising delinquency rates, and declining overcollateralization," the rating agency said. The underlying collateral for the deals consists of adjustable- and fixed-rate residential mortgage loans.