Alt-A Delinquencies Rising According to Standard & Poor’s

Delinquencies of Alternative-A mortgages, often offered to those who cannot fully document income or assets, are rising sharply and “early data suggests that the 2007 deterioration may be the worst ever for the Alt-A market,” Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday.

The 90-plus-day delinquency rate for 2006 vintage Alt-As was 4.71 percent after 18 months’ seasoning, versus 1.97 percent for the 2005 vintage and 1.07 percent for the 2004 vintage, S&P said, citing data from LoanPerformance, a division of First American CoreLogic Inc.

Severe delinquencies for Alt-A mortgages show no signs of abating soon, S&P said.

“We remain concerned that an extended housing downturn could lead to a prolonged period of high delinquencies,” it said.

Read the entire article at Reuters News.