New Century-Linked MBS Classes Downgraded

Six classes from transactions originated by New Century Mortgage Corp. have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service.The downgrades from securitizations issued by Asset Backed Securities Corp. were as follows: series 2002-HE2, class B, from Baa2 to B2; and series 2003-HE1, class M4, from Baa3 to B2. The downgrades from deals issued by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital I Inc. were as follows: series 2001-NC3, class B-1, from Baa3 to Ba1; series 2002-NC1, class B-1, from Baa2 to Ba1; series 2002-NC2, class B-1, from Baa2 to Ba1; and series 2002-HE1, class B-2, from Baa3 to Ba1. In addition, Moody's upgraded 28 certificates from 13 deals originated by New Century and confirmed the ratings on three certificates previously placed under review for possible downgrade. The downgrades were attributed to credit enhancement levels that are low given the projected losses on the underlying pools. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.