Markit plans ABS prospectus, report Web site

LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Markit, a data and valuations provider, is working with nine banks to create a website site that will consolidate prospectuses and investor reports for European asset-backed securities.

The move comes in answer to calls from politicians and regulators for transparency in the ABS market, which has been at the heart of the credit crunch, spreading losses on U.S. subprime mortgages around the globe.

The market for ABS -- bonds backed by cash flows from assets such as mortgages, credit cards or auto loans -- froze as investors shunned all types of complex security, without regard for the quality of the underlying collateral.

Markit said BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Citigroup (C.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), JP Morgan (JPM.N), Lehman Brothers LEH.N, Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and UBS (UBSN.VX) were working on the initiative.

"We hope that this greater availability of key deal and performance information will restore investor confidence in these markets," said Amany Attia, head of European securitised products at Lehman.

The information on the website will be freely available to both sell-side and buy-side firms as well as third parties, Markit said.

It said the site would be operational by the end of the third quarter of 2008, with other dealers expected to join in the coming months. (Reporting by Richard Barley; Editing by David Cowell)