At least two issuers, including Ford Motor Credit, have pulled planned asset-backed bond sales from the market this week, as issuance remains paralyzed by a twist in the new financial reforms, traders and fund managers said.
Rating agencies have indicated they will no longer allow their ratings to be used in bond prospectuses for asset-backed securities issues. That's because the regulatory overhaul imposes new liabilities for the agencies if they consent to use of their ratings in public offering documents.
As a result, on Wednesday, Ford Motor Credit indefinitely postponed a potential asset-backed securities issue that could have been between $1 billion and $3 billion in size, market sources said.
The company, part of Ford Motor Co., declined comment.
"We do not comment on funding plans that are not already public," a Ford Motor Credit Co. spokeswoman said.
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