In a bit of good news for the subprime industry, Fitch Ratings said late yesterday that it has affirmed Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc.’s (dba HomEq Servicing) servicer ratings for both Alt-A and subprime primary and special servicing at ‘RPS1’ and ‘RSS1,’ respectively. On Nov. 1, 2006, the sale of HomEq by Wachovia Corporation to Barclays was completed. Headquartered in Sacramento, CA, with satellite offices located in Raleigh and Boone, NC. HomEq provides a full range of servicing functions for Barclays and a number of third party clients. As of Dec. 31, 2006, HomEq serviced a portfolio of more than 310,000 loans with an outstanding principal balance of $44.4 billion, representing a decrease of approximately 5 percent over the prior year based on loan volume. The portfolio is comprised of $44.1 billion subprime loans and $267 million of Alt-A loans. HomEq has focused on transitioning its platform to the Barclays operation since Fitch’s prior review, the rating agency noted. To this end, HomEq completed the build out of a multi-million dollar data center with state of the art hardware, rerouted its general ledger, created an independent HR department, hired a dedicated training manager and expanded its Raleigh and Boone offices, which will continue to provide HomEq with a redundant call center. Additionally, HomEq implemented several enhancements to its call center technology to improve staff forecasting, call tracking, and productivity. Fitch said it believes that HomEq continues to provide a scalable servicing platform with solid default management capabilities and innovative, integrated technology. For more information, visit http://www.fitchratings.com.

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