March 1, 1999- Lewtan Technologies, Inc.® (Lewtan) today announced the immediate availability of ABSNet™, a new internet service providing an unprecedented volume of data and information for securitization professionals. The release of the product marks the first time that ABS professionals have access to a centralized, web-based resource containing comprehensive deal performance data, news and analyses, research and ratings information, and analytics. With ABSNet™, primary ABS parties such as investors, issuers, credit enhancers, investment bankers, sell-side analysts, traders, and ratings agencies now have immediate, convenient access to critical ABS information – whether they are in the office, or on the road.

Feedback from more than 500 beta users has revealed four major benefits provided by the ABSNet™ service: speed, accuracy of data, depth of data, and intelligence.

• Speed: By posting performance data, ratings actions, and news on the internet as soon they are released, ABSNet™ gives professionals immediate access to critical data and developments.
• Accuracy: Performance data is presented in a standardized and cleansed format – removing ambiguities due to structural differences between deals.
• Depth: ABSNet provides more than a hundred data elements on each deal. In addition to the basic information, such as delinquency, loss, recovery, and prepayment rates, ABSNet includes deal details such as credit enhancement, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and repossession.
• Intelligence: Using the productivity and analysis tools incorporated in ABSNet™, – such as Alerts and Comparisons -- securitization professionals can be notified of changes, assess risk, and identify opportunities more quickly and accurately – effectively turning raw data into information they can use.

"In this business, access to timely, detailed data is crucial for success," said Jon Prestley, Vice President at The Hartford Investment Management Company, and a beta tester of ABSNet™. "A centralized resource such as ABSNet™ will offer a significant advantage."

Lewtan Technologies estimates that the size of the ABS market has exceeded $1 trillion, and has grown annually at the rate of 40%. A wealth of information is communicated in the securitization process, yet a long-standing complaint from all parties is that the vehicle for communicating deal performance lacks standardization, and is paper bound.

"Given the current state of communication in the asset-backed market, the need for an information clearinghouse could not be more apparent. ABSNet™ is positioned to provide that central data source to all industry players," said Barbara Smiley, research director at Meridien Research. "Equally impressive, the ABSNet™ concept embraces not just a database, but also a platform for analytical applications, using delivery technology that is state of the art," she added.

The ABSNet™ service is available at two levels: Basic Membership and Premium Membership. Basic Members have access to recent (but not the latest) summary deal data, ABS research, deal analyses, ratings criteria and actions from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch IBCA, SEC registrations, and ABS/MBS related Reuters news and archives. Premium Members additionally have access to the very latest detailed performance data, Asset-Backed Alert and Asset Sales Report newsletters and archives, and advanced productivity tools. Those tools include deal comparisons (allowing users to graphically compare the performance of two or more deals), built-in loss and delinquency reports, and user-defined ad-hoc reports on any deal data element. Premium Members can also set Alerts, triggers which may be set on any data element, and which notify the user if performance issues develop within individual transactions.

"This is just the beginning," said Stuart Lewtan, President of Lewtan Technologies. "In the next few months, we will be delivering more collateral types, more deals, more rating-related information, and more news – all pushed to our members. Our ultimate goal is that ABSNet™ will be the central resource for researching, reporting, and even conducting ABS business."

ABSNet™ has been developed by Lewtan Technologies, with a consortium of leading industry organizations such as Standard & Poor’s (a founding sponsor), Fitch IBCA, Reuters, Asset Sales Report and Asset-Backed Alert. The ABSNet™ consortium continues to expand. Interested parties can contact Jay Lebed at Lewtan Technologies, Inc., at 781.895.9800, x1130.