Exposure To Mortgages Leads S&P To Downgrade U.S. Central.

LENEXA, Kan. -- In another offshoot of the meltdown in the mortgage market, Standard & Poors said last week it downgraded its ratings for U.S. Central FCU, from its top AAA (Triple A) to AA+, citing the corporate credit unions exposure to the mortgage market crisis.

The move will make it more costly for U.S. Central to borrow money on the credit markets, raising concerns by the rating agency, which noted the thin margins on which U.S. Central usually operates.

With the housing market weakening to levels not seen since the early 1990s down-cycle, we expect U.S. Centrals large portfolio of mortgage-related securities to further decline in value, said Robert …