Terwin Subprime Tranches Downgraded

Seventy-eight tranches from 20 chiefly subprime mortgage-backed securities deals issued by Terwin Mortgage Trust from 2003 through 2005 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. Moody's also placed 10 additional tranches on review for possible downgrade. The downgrades were attributed mainly to weak performance in the underlying collateral pool, though many of the deals "have only experienced deterioration in performance at the tail end of the collateral pool, with pool factors near or below 10%," the rating agency said. "Additionally, the vast majority of these tranches have experienced diminished credit support as a result of passing performance triggers in prior periods." The collateral consists primarily of first- or second-lien subprime residential mortgage loans. Moody's can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.