April 25, 2006

PNC Consumer Services ABOVE AVERAGE Alternative Residential Servicer Ranking Affirmed

NEW YORK, April 25, 2006 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its ABOVE AVERAGE ranking for PNC Consumer Services (PNCCS), a division and business unit within PNC Bank N.A., a member of the PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC), as a Residential Subordinate Lien Mortgage Servicer. The outlook is stable.

The affirmation is based on the company's highly tenured and experienced management team, strong internal controls and risk management, dedicated and comprehensive training programs, thorough policies and procedures, established default management expertise, and tenacious practice of reviewing technology for maintaining an excellent level of automation. PNCCS continues to maintain operation efficiencies by investing in technology and consciously utilizing vendors to perform some traditional services. This approach allows PNCCS to provide cost-efficient tailored services to its clients. As a result of PNCCS' excellent level of automation, experienced management team, and default management expertise, it successfully minimizes portfolio risk through solid internal controls and loan servicing practices. Standard & Poor's is uncomfortable, however, with the current methodology PNCCS has in place for tax and insurance tracking and payment processing. PNCCS' management has represented that it has not experienced any material negative consequences resulting from not tracking tax payments or hazard insurance adherence or rejecting payments on accounts in the process of foreclosure. Nevertheless, Standard & Poor's encourages PNCCS to review its current methodology pertaining to these items.

Outlook Stable. PNCCS management remains committed to growing its home equity mortgage portfolio as well as its private-label servicing programs for third-party clients. Based on PNCCS' seasoned management team, excellent automation, and solid internal controls that maximize effective cost controls and minimize portfolio risk for all portfolios under management, Standard & Poor's believes that PNCCS is well poised to continue to achieve its growth objectives.