Fitch Ratings is planning to expand its new methodology for rating collateralized debt obligations of U.S. and European collateral to include liabilities backed by Asian collateral. Fitch implemented its Vector model for analyzing CDOs, which includes industry-based correlation measures and credit enhancement discounts for top-notch managers, earlier this year (BW, 5/19).
With the implementation having gone smoothly, John Schiavetta, managing director and head of CDOs in New York, says Fitch plans to apply the model to Asian collateral in the next 30-60 days. "It was always envisioned as a global criteria, and largely 90% of it is; we just want to round that out," he explains, noting that U.S. and European collateral make up the lion's share of what supports CDO liabilities. The methodology will be applied to all CDOs that include Asian collateral, regardless of whether the liabilities are dollar- or euro-denominated.