S&P Eyes Ratings on SPFC-Linked Deal

Standard & Poor's has placed its ratings on the Southern Pacific CMN Trust Series 1998-H1 home loan asset-backed notes on CreditWatch with negative implications.S&P said the action was based on the financial difficulties of Southern Pacific Funding Corp., which recently announced that it will take a one-time charge of $60-70 million in the third quarter as a result of changes in residual asset valuations and increased credit loss expectations. Following that announcement, S&P lowered SPFC's long- and short-term counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings. SPFC, the servicer for the Southern Pacific CMN Trust transaction, has been removed from S&P's list of approved servicers. S&P's website address is http://www.ratings.standardpoor.com.