Auto Delinquencies & Losses Stabilize Says Fitch IBCA.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2000

Fitch IBCA, the international rating agency, has seen a stabilizing trend in delinquencies and losses on auto loan backed securitizations according to two new publications, 'In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat' and 'In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat Owner's Manual.'

"Borrowers continue to pay in a timely manner, with only 0.41% of current securitized balances registering 60+ days past due. Furthermore, November 1999 marks the ninth consecutive month delinquencies have remained below 0.50%. The trend carries over to cumulative net losses with transactions completed in 1999 posting improved performance over 1998 and 1997 deals," said Director Joe Astorina.

In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat, which will be published quarterly, features multiple loss curves charting the health of the prime auto sector in the 1990s and into the next millennium. In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat Owner's Manual is a companion piece containing complete descriptions of each research tool and its derivation. Created from nearly a decade worth of data, the curves track the progress of public auto issues over the majority of their lives and allow investors to compare issuers to one another, as well as to past and present industry performance, strong economic cycles and stressful credit environments. The loss curves are accompanied by a true index that measures 60+ day delinquencies each month for the same universe of auto-backed ABS. The delinquency index will allow investors to track industry loan performance month-to-month and foresee potential downturns.

"Fitch IBCA has rated and monitored the performance of several billion dollars of auto-backed ABS over the past decade. These publications have been designed to offer auto loan-backed ABS investors access to our market observations, follow current developments and uncover future trends in a regular and timely periodical," said Senior Director Chris Mrazek.

For a copy of In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat and In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat Owner's Manual please visit the internet at www.fitchibca.com or contact market services at 800/853-4824.

Fitch IBCA NewsAlert, an e-mail notification service, is now available for the quarterly 'In the Auto ABS Driver's Seat' report. If you would like to receive e-mail notification on a monthly basis as to the availability of this report, which includes a hyperlink to the adobe acrobat file, please contact Lucy Traverso via e-mail at [e-mail] or by phone at 212/908-0752.