S&P Drops NJ 'Covered Loan' Criteria

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has announced that it is eliminating its previously published criteria for New Jersey "covered home loans" for loans originated on or after July 6.The criteria applied to home loans defined by New Jersey state law as covered home loans and that were included in S&P-rated securitizations. S&P said the reason for the move is a recently enacted amendment to the New Jersey Home Ownership Security Act of 2002 that eliminates the category of covered home loans. Because the amended act is not retroactive, the rating agency said it will continue to apply the previously published criteria for covered home loans originated on or after Nov. 27, 2003, and before July 6, 2004. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.