OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings says 205 Asia-Pacific (APAC) structured finance (SF) and structured credit (SC) tranches were affirmed in 1Q16. Thirteen ratings were upgraded during the quarter, none were downgraded.

The upgrades were to four notes from the Australian auto loan transaction Series 2013-1 REDS EHP Trust and one note each from nine Australian prime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions.

Most of the affirmations were RMBS backed by Australian or New Zealand properties (166), 13 were Australian auto ABS and five were Australian small balance commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). Elsewhere, asset-backed securities (ABS) ratings from India (11) and China (1), RMBS backed by Japanese properties (7) and two SC ratings were also affirmed.

At the end of 1Q16, most long-term ratings in APAC had Stable Outlooks. The on-going exceptions were Positive Outlooks on three Australian ABS tranches and one structured credit rating.

Australia and New Zealand's robust economies over the last two years are reflected in the strong asset performance. The stable target cash rate in Australia and decreasing official cash rate in New Zealand helped borrowers service their debt. The Australian and New Zealand housing markets have remained strong due to significant property price appreciation over the past couple of years.

The account bank for eight Japanese SF transactions became ineligible, following its downgrade in December 2015. This was successfully replaced by a bank satisfying Fitch's SF counterparty criteria in March 2016.