S&P: SBI Mortgage Servicer Rnkng as res loan pri svcer afmed

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Nov 7 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its ABOVE AVERAGE Servicer Evaluation Ranking on SBI Mortgage Co. Ltd. (SBI Mortgage) as a residential loan primary servicer. SBI Mortgage remains on Standard & Poor's Select Servicer List.

The affirmation of the ranking reflects steady progress in the company's business expansion and its continued efforts to enhance its internal control system.

SBI Mortgage's principal shareholder is SBI Holdings Inc. (8473.T). As a company, SBI Mortgage was formed in June 2000, and in November, it was established as a residential mortgage specialist finance firm named GOODLOAN Co. Ltd.

The company was then renamed Good Mortgage Corp. before being renamed again as SBI Mortgage in May 2005. SBI Mortgage's main business is servicing residential housing loans that it originated itself.

SBI Mortgage has been trying to speed up procedures for loan applications, credit evaluations, and prepayments by using the Internet for these processes. As a result, the company has achieved low-cost operations, and is building up its loan balance.

SBI Mortgage has a network of offices located nationwide, excluding Okinawa. There is some degree of customer concentration in Tokyo and the urban areas of the Kansai region.

In 2004, the company joined the securitization support program led by Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF, which was known as Government Housing Loan Corp. until March 2007) and started servicing JHF's purchased loans.

In addition, the company started guaranteeing JHF's purchased loans in 2007, which has increased its servicing business. In the future, SBI Mortgage plans to further strengthen its mortgage loan servicing business through franchise development.

Standard & Poor's affirmed its ABOVE AVERAGE ranking on SBI Mortgage by examining and analyzing the following factors:

-- The company's track record as a residential loan primary servicer;

-- The servicing experience of its management and collection staff;

-- The turnover rate of its core staff;

-- Its internal policies and procedures;

-- Its future business expansion plans;

-- The implementation and results of its internal audits;