OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has affirmed the U.S. residential mortgage servicer ratings for PNC Mortgage, division of PNC Bank National Association (PNC) as follows:

--U.S. residential primary servicer rating for prime product at 'RPS2';
--U.S. residential primary servicer rating for Alt-A product at 'RPS2'.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The rating affirmations and Stable Outlook reflect PNC's improved internal controls, its experienced senior management and staff, ongoing investment in technology, its managed growth and the continued financial support from its parent.

In 2011, PNC was one of 14 mortgage servicers that the OCC, OTS, and the Federal Reserve Board issued enforcement actions against for deficiencies in mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure operations. PNC has since responded to its consent order by instituting remedial actions and made material changes to its loss mitigation and foreclosure platform, and on June 17, 2015 the OCC terminated PNC's consent order.

The ratings also take into consideration the financial condition of the parent as this is a component of Fitch's servicer ratings. PNC Mortgage is a division of PNC Bank N.A which has a Fitch rating of 'A+' with a Stable Outlook.

Finally, the ratings reflect Fitch's overall concerns for the U.S. residential servicing industry which include Fitch's concerns for the servicers' ability to maintain high performance standards while addressing the rising cost of servicing and the ongoing changes to industry practices being mandated by regulators and other parties.

PNC's mortgage servicing operations are headquartered in Miamisburg, OH with a second servicing site in Jacksonville, FL. The Jacksonville site contains redundant collections, loss mitigation, and customer service functions.

As of Sept. 30, 2015, PNC serviced over 800,000 loans with an unpaid principal balance (UPB) of $126.4 billion. PNC's portfolio by loan volume comprised 86% government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), 12% non-agency prime and 2% non-agency Alt-A.

Fitch rates residential mortgage primary, master, and special servicers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest rating. Within some of these rating levels, Fitch further differentiates ratings by plus (+) and minus (-) as well as the flat rating. For more information on Fitch's residential servicer rating program, please see Fitch's report 'Rating U.S. Residential and Small Balance Commercial Mortgage Servicer Rating Criteria', dated April 23, 2015 which is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'.