OREANDA-NEWS. August 03, 2015. Fitch Ratings has maintained Acenden Limited's (Acenden) Residential Servicer Ratings on Rating Watch Evolving (RWE), as follows:

UK Primary (Prime) Servicer Rating of 'RPS2+'; RWE maintained
UK Primary (Sub-prime) Servicer Rating of 'RPS2+'; RWE maintained
UK Special Servicer Rating of 'RSS2'; RWE maintained

Fitch initially placed Acenden's ratings on RWE on 13 February 2015, following the announcement at the beginning of January 2015 that Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Advisors L.L.C. (Blackstone) and TPG Special Situations Partners (TSSP) had agreed to purchase Acenden. This announcement came a week after Blackstone and TSSP completed the purchase of Kensington Mortgage Company (KMC; RSS2+/RWE).

The RWE addresses the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the impact of the sale and of the change of ownership. Considering the potential synergy between Acenden and KMC, Fitch would like to see if any operational changes come about as a result of having a shared parent. To date, Fitch is still unable to resolve the RWE due to the lack of information deemed necessary to completely assess the impact on the ratings.

Fitch may not fully understand the impact of the Acenden's business sale for at least six months. Thus, the ratings will remain on RWE until the ongoing situation is resolved and Fitch can conduct a full operational assessment of Acenden. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, it could result in an upgrade, affirmation or downgrade of the servicer rating.