TOKYO (Standard & Poor's) July 1, 2005--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
today assigned its AVERAGE Servicer Evaluation Rankings on SSJ Servicer Co.
Ltd. (SSJ) both as a primary servicer and as a special servicer for commercial
loans. SSJ will be added to Standard & Poor's Select Servicer List in both
servicer categories.
The outlook for both rankings is stable. Although the company will remain
focused on servicing performing and non performing assets for Merrill Lynch,
SSJ is expected to continue to expand its servicing business for loans
originated and purchased by third parties.
SSJ was established in July 2002. The company was licensed by the
Ministry of Justice as Japan's 76th servicer in March 2003, allowing it to
conduct servicing operations as regulated under Japan's Law Concerning Special
Measures for Servicing Business (Servicer Law). SSJ began its operations in
July 2003.
Standard & Poor's assigned the rankings on SSJ by examining and analyzing
the following factors. Standard & Poor's will continue to closely monitor
progress in the company's business plan, as well as the company's reaction to
market sentiment and investor expectations for servicing business.
-- Track record as a primary servicer and a special servicer;
-- Experience in the servicing business of its management and collection
staff;
-- Internal policies and procedures, and employees' accessibility to them:
-- Future business expansion plans;
-- The state of implementation and results of internal audits;
-- Internal training system;
-- Disaster contingency programs, including computer backup systems;
-- The quality and capacity of the computer system supporting day-to-day
business operations;
-- Boarding process of loans originated by third parties to SSJ's servicing
system;
-- Methodologies for establishing collection strategies;
-- Cash management methods;
-- Capabilities to report to relevant parties;
-- Number and type of transactions per collection staff; and
-- Financial profile.
Standard & Poor's servicer evaluations are based on an objective and
comprehensive assessment of a servicer's operational capabilities for
servicing various types of receivables and obligatory rights. The assessment
is described in five rankings: STRONG, ABOVE AVERAGE, AVERAGE, BELOW AVERAGE,
and WEAK.
To be included in and remain on the Select Servicer List, a firm must
meet the criteria for attaining at least an AVERAGE ranking with an outlook of
stable. Inclusion in the list indicates that a firm is, at the very least,
performing its duties in an effective and controlled manner, and is in general
compliance with investor, regulatory, or agency requirements. Standard &
Poor's recognizes that a firm's servicing capabilities must be differentiated
within its industry based on the nature of the specific assets being serviced.
The Select Servicer List, therefore, categorizes each firm's approval by its
product type. The complete Select Servicer List is available on RatingsDirect,
Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system at www.ratingsdirect.com.
A Japanese-language version of this media release is available via
Standard & Poor's CreditWire Japan on Bloomberg Professional at SPCJ <GO>.
