Standard & Poor's late Tuesday said it is reviewing its rating criteria for U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities collateralized primarily by second liens.
The rating agency said in its advance notice of proposed criteria change it is reviewing its methodologies and assumptions in light of ongoing seasoning and increased longevity in some transactions.
S&P said in its report that while overall delinquencies for securitized mortgage pools consisting mostly of second liens have fallen over the past year it believes the transactions could experience future losses.
The update aims to address the magnitude and timing of potential losses under a variety of economic stresses.
S&P plans to release its updated methodology and assumptions in the next few months.
