u.s. money fund exposure to european

8/4/2019 U.S. Money Fund Exposure to European

1/5

Research Highlights

Samplebasedon10largestU.S.primeMMFs,currentlyrepresenting$755billion(i.e.45%)of$1.66trillionintotalU.S.primeMMFassets.

Recentbankexposuretrends(%oftotalMMFassets)Figure1:

Europe:50.2%(stable)

France:14.8%(increasing)

Italy:0.8%(declining)

MMFexposurestoindividualbanks(%totalMMFassets)Figure2:

1. DeutscheBank:4.5%

2. BNPParibas:4.1%

3. Rabobank:3.8%

BanksuseofMMFfunding(%ofinstitutionsdepositsandshort-termliabilities)Figure3:

4. Rabobank:6.7%

5. Westpac:6.2%

6. Natixis:5.7%

U.S. Money Fund Exposure to EuropeanBanks Remains Signifcant

Macro Credit Research June 21, 201

www.ftchratings.com

Analysts

Macro Credit ResearchRobert J. [email protected]

Kevin [email protected]

Martin [email protected]

Fund and Asset Manager Group

Viktoria Baklanova

[email protected]

U.S. Money Fund Exposure to EuropeanBanks: Recent Developments,

March 30, 2011

U.S. Money Market Funds: RecentTrends in Exposure to European Banks,

Dec. 10, 2010

Related Research

SummaryU.S.primemoneymarketfunds(MMFs)continuetohavesizableexposurestoEuropeanfinancial

institutions,arelationshipwhichcouldaffectbothsectors.MMFsareapotentialchannelfo

eurozonecreditmarketvolatility.ForEuropeanbanks,alossorreductioninMMFfundingcoul

createnegativeperceptionsaboutaninstitutionsfinancialstrength.

ThisreportanalyzesMMFportfoliotrendsthroughMay31,2011,andupdatesFitchRatings

priorstudy,whichwasbasedonresultsfromtheendofFebruary.Fitchsanalysisisbasedon

asampleofthe10largestprimeMMFs,representing45%ofthetotalprimefunduniverse,

andfocusesontheiraggregateexposuretobankscertificatesofdeposit(CDs),commercial

paper (CP),asset-backedCP (ABCP),repurchaseagreements(repos),andother short-term

notesanddeposits.

Over the past threemonths, MMF exposure toEuropeanbanks hasbeenstable, atroughly

50%oftotalMMFassets,inclusiveoftimedepositsandnotes(seenoteonpage3).Aggregate

exposuretoFrench,German,andU.K.banksremainedconstantat30%oftotalMMFassets

althoughtherewassomevariationintrendsacrosscountries.Germanbankexposuredecreased

from8.2%to6.3%ofMMFassets,whileFrenchbankexposurerosefrom13.3%to14.8%overthesameperiod.U.K.bankexposurealsoincreased,from8.6%to9.7%ofMMFasset

(seeFigure1).

Sincepeakingin2009,MMFexposurestoItalianandSpanishbankshavecontinuedtodeclin

steadily. Italian bankexposureroughly halvedsince February, falling from1.5% to 0.8%o

totalMMFassets.Spanishbanksremainedsteadyat0.2%oftotalassets,asMMFshadalread

reducedthisexposuresignificantlyin2010.

The15largestglobalbankexposures,asagroup,comprisemorethan40%oftotalMMFasset

(seeFigure2).Ofthetop15,thereare10Europeaninstitutionsthatinaggregateaccountfor

morethan30%oftotalMMFassets.ThefourFrenchbanksamongthetop15(BNPParibas

CreditAgricole,SocieteGenerale,andNatixis)representroughly12%oftotalMMFassets.

0

5

10

15

20

2 H0 6 1H07 2 H0 7 1 H0 8 2H08 1H09 2 H0 9 1H10 2H10 Fe b- 11 Ma y- 11

France Germany ItalyandSpain UnitedKingdom

(%)

Figure 1: Exposure to Banks in "Core" Countries Remains Elevated(%ofTotalMMFAssetsUnderManagement)

Sources:FitchRatings,MMFpublicWebsites,SECfilings.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=585245http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=616105mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/52 June 21, 201

U.S. Money Fund Exposure to European Banks Remains Signifcant

TheotherdimensionoftherelationshipbetweenbanksandMMFs

is MMFs asa sourceof short-term bank funding.Of the top 15

MMFexposurestoglobalbanks,MMFfundingaccountsforatleast

3% of total deposits, money market, and short-term funding for

seveninstitutions.Thisfigurewouldbehigherifincludingthefull

universeofprimeMMFsbeyondthetenlargestfunds,aswellas

otherprivatelymanagedliquiditypoolsandEuropeanU.S.dollar

denominatedmoneyfundswithsimilarinvestmentprofiles.While

theoverallfundingrelianceonMMFsmightnotappearsignificant,

the potential withdrawal of MMF funding could create negative

perceptionsaboutaninstitutionsfinancialcondition.

A Regulatory Conundrum

Systemicinterconnectednesscomplicatesthemanychallengesthatregulatorsfaceintheireffortstoenhancethesafetyandstabilityof

thepost-crisisfinancialsector.Forexample,newBaselIIIliquidityratioscreateincentivesforbankstoreducetheirrelianceonshort-

termliabilitiesbyassumingthatunsecuredfundingoflessthan30daysrunsoffcompletelyinastressscenario.Effortsbybanking

regulatorstolengthenthedurationofbanksliabilitiescreateanapparenttensionwithsecuritiesregulatorsobjectivestoreducethe

maturityprofileofMMFsinvestmentportfolios.Morespecifically,Rule2a-7revisionsreducetheaveragematurityofMMFinvestments

from90daysto60daysandintroduceminimumdailyandweeklyliquidityrequirements,creatingdisincentivesforMMFstoinvestin

longer-datedbankCDandCPissuance.

Figure 2: Largest MMF Exposures Financial Institutions(%ofTotalMMFAssetsUnderManagement,AsofMay2011)

Issuer/Counterparty CD CP Repo

Other

(e.g.

Notes) Total

Deutsche Bank 2.1 0.3 2.2 0.0 4.5

BNP Paribas 3.2 0.2 0.6 0.0 4.1

Rabobank 3.1 0.7 0.0 0.0 3.8

Barclays 0.8 0.3 1.9 0.0 3.0

Credit Agricole 2.4 0.1 0.1 0.4 3.0

Westpac 0.5 1.7 0.0 0.8 3.0Societe Generale 1.2 0.9 0.3 0.6 3.0

ING 2.0 0.5 0.4 0.0 2.9

RoyalBankofCanada 1.4 0.4 0.1 0.6 2.5

BankofNovaScotia 2.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 2.4

Royal Bank of Scotland 1.4 0.1 0.9 0.0 2.4

JPMorganChase 0.0 0.3 1.4 0.6 2.3

NationalAustraliaBank 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.3

Natixis 1.2 0.8 0.0 0.0 2.1

UBS 1.3 0.0 0.7 0.0 2.0

Note:Totalsmayvaryduetorounding.Europeanbanksareboldedabove.Source:FitchRatings,MMFpublicWebsites,SEClings.

Figure 3: Bank Reliance on MMF Funding(AsofMay2011)

Issuer/Counterparty

CD, CP, Repo, Other/

Financial Institution's Deposits

and Short-Term Liabilities (%)a

Rabobank 6.7

Westpac 6.2

Natixis 5.7

NationalAustraliaBank 4.2

Deutsche Bank 3.8

BankofNovaScotia 3.8

RoyalBankofCanada 3.3

Societe Generale 2.9

BNP Paribas 2.6

ING 2.5

UBS 2.3

Barclays 2.2

Credit Agricole 1.9

Royal Bank of Scotland 1.5

JPMorganChase 1.3

aTotaldeposits,moneymarket,andshort-termfunding.Note:Europeanbanksareboldedabove.Source:FitchRatings,MMFpublicWebsites,SEClings.

Drivers o U.S. MMF Exposure to European Banks

ThereareseveralmacrofactorswhichhelpexplainthesignificantexposureofU.S.MMFstoEuropeanbankissuers.

> EuropeanBanksNeedforDollarFunding:Dollar-denominatedassetsofEuropeanbankshavegrownrapidlyoverthepastdecade,

fromapproximately$2trillionin1999tomorethan$8trillionin2008.SeeMarch2009BankforInternationalSettlements

QuarterlyReviewU.S.DollarMoneyMarketFundsandNon-U.S.Banks).U.S.primemoneyfundsprovideanaturalsourcefor

short-termdollarfinancing.

> NarrowingInvestmentOpportunitiesforMMFs:Duringthefinancialcrisis,industryconsolidationandthefailureof several

financialinstitutionsreducedtheglobaluniverseofpotentialMMFinvestmenttargets,particularlyintheU.S.(e.g.BearStearns,

Countrywide,LehmanBrothers,Wachovia,andWashingtonMutual).Additionally,sincethebeginningof2007,ABCPoutstanding

hasdroppedfrom$1.2trillionto$380billion.Finally,short-termTreasuryyieldsarehoveringnear0%.EuropeanbankCD

exposurehashelpedtofilltheresultingvoid.


3/5 June 21, 2011

Fitch Ratings

Background on Fitch Study

> ThisresearchstudyisintendedtoprovidemarketparticipantswithinformationonMMFexposurestoEuropeanbanks,anddoes

notcommentspecificallyonFitch-ratedMMFs.Assuchthereportdoesnotatpresenthaveanyratingimplications.

> Forthemostrecentobservationperiod(i.e.May31,2011),theMMFsinFitchssamplerepresentroughly$755billion,or45%of

theInvestmentCompanyInstitutesestimateofapproximately$1.66trillionintotalU.S.primeMMFassetsundermanagement.

> Thesamplesetisbasedonpublicfilingsfromthe10largestprimeinstitutionalandretailMMFs,asmeasuredbyassetsunder

management,asofeachobservationperiod.Thus,insomecasestheMMFssampleddifferslightlyfromperiodtoperiod.Becausethisanalysisisbasedonaggregateddataforthe10MMFssampled,itdoesnotcapturepotentialdifferencesinexposureprofiles

acrossindividualfunds.

> MMFexposuretobanksencompassesthefollowinginstrumenttypes:CDs,CP,ABCP,repos,andcorporatenotes.Bankexposure

dataforforeignsubsidiariesisgenerallyconsolidatedwithinthebankinggroupshomejurisdiction.Bankexposuredataincludes

state-controlledfinancialinstitutions,whereapplicable.

> Inordertomaintaindataintegrity,Fitchperiodicallyreviewsrawexposure-levelholdingsdataand,ifwarranted,mayreclassify

specificexposures(e.g.byassettype,industrysector,counterparty,orcountry).Reclassificationand/orrevisionstothedatasetcan

resultingenerallyminorchangestothehistoricaltimeseriesofMMFexposures.

> Becauseofboththeinclusionofnewinstrumenttypes(e.g.timedepositsandcorporatenotes)andexposurereclassifications,

historicaldatainsomeinstanceschangedslightly,relativetopriorupdatesofthisstudy.Forexample,Fitchspriorstudy(published

inMarch2011)providedatotalEuropeanbankexposurefigureof44.3%formonth-endFebruary.Inthiscurrentstudy,thecorrespondinghistoricalfigureformonth-endFebruaryis49.6%,a5.3%increaseaccountedforbyreclassifications(0.9%)and

theinclusionofotherinstrumenttypes(4.4%).

> Theperiodofobservationcoversninedistinctsemiannualperiods,month-endFebruary2011,andmonth-endMay2011.Note

thatfinancialreportingdatesoftenvaryacrossMMFs.Fitchthereforehasappliedadegreeofjudgmentincategorizingindividual

MMFfilingsintotheappropriatesemiannualbucket.

> MostofthehistoricaldataincludedinthisstudyiscomparabletoareportpublishedbyFitchinDecember2010.(SeeU.S.

MoneyMarketFunds:RecentTrendsinExposuretoEuropeanBanks.)However,second-half2010dataintheDecember2010

reportwascompiledasofOctober2010,andreflectsaninterimobservationforthatperiod.Thesecond-half2010dataprovided

inthisreporthasbeenupdatedandrevisedtoreflectMMFholdingsasofNovember/December2010,resultinginslightdifferences

withthesecond-half2010figurespublishedintheDecember2010report.


4/54 June 21, 201

U.S. Money Fund Exposure to European Banks Remains Signifcant

Figure 4: MMF Exposure to Bank CDs, CP, Repos, and Other By Country(As a % of Total MMF Assets Under Management)

BE FR DE IE IT NL Nordic PT ES CH UK

Europe

(All) AT CA JP US

2H06 1.4 10.0 10.1 0.4 2.4 4.1 2.6 0.0 0.7 4.0 12.8 48.7 1.6 3.0 2.7 24.6

CD 0.5 6.2 3.4 0.3 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.0 0.1 1.7 5.5 20.4 0.1 2.2 2.6 1.3

CP 0.8 1.4 3.4 0.2 0.3 2.6 1.1 0.0 0.3 0.5 3.3 14.1 1.1 0.4 0.0 7.7

Repo 0.0 0.1 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 1.2 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.8

Other 0.1 2.4 2.0 0.0 1.2 0.4 0.6 0.0 0.3 0.5 2.8 10.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 9.71H07 2.1 10.4 9.8 0.4 1.9 4.3 2.9 0.0 0.9 4.6 13.0 50.5 2.1 3.0 2.3 26.6

CD 1.0 6.1 3.6 0.2 0.5 1.7 0.7 0.0 0.2 2.8 5.1 22.0 0.4 2.2 2.0 1.4

CP 0.7 1.1 2.5 0.1 0.2 2.0 1.2 0.0 0.1 1.1 3.1 12.2 1.2 0.3 0.1 7.4

Repo 0.0 0.1 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 1.8 3.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.2

Other 0.4 3.0 2.4 0.1 1.2 0.6 1.0 0.0 0.6 0.1 3.1 12.5 0.5 0.6 0.2 9.6

2H07 2.5 8.6 8.4 0.8 1.7 4.8 3.3 0.1 1.9 4.9 13.4 50.5 2.0 3.7 1.8 26.7

CD 1.2 4.8 2.1 0.3 0.4 1.3 1.4 0.0 1.0 2.5 6.2 21.2 0.3 2.5 1.6 2.1

CP 1.2 1.3 1.9 0.4 0.3 2.9 1.3 0.1 0.3 0.6 4.2 14.3 1.0 0.5 0.1 9.2

Repo 0.0 0.4 2.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.0 5.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.0

Other 0.1 2.1 1.7 0.1 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.6 0.1 2.0 9.2 0.7 0.7 0.0 7.3

1H08 2.6 10.2 7.1 1.6 3.2 3.8 3.7 0.0 2.6 3.4 11.0 49.3 4.0 2.9 1.2 18.6

CD 1.1 6.9 2.1 0.8 1.9 1.5 0.9 0.0 2.1 1.4 5.7 24.4 1.0 1.8 1.0 1.3

CP 1.0 1.2 1.1 0.7 0.4 1.6 1.5 0.0 0.1 0.4 2.6 10.8 1.6 0.3 0.1 6.7

Repo 0.0 0.2 2.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.9 5.2 0.0 0.1 0.0 4.5

Other 0.5 1.9 1.0 0.1 0.9 0.6 1.3 0.0 0.4 0.4 1.6 8.9 1.4 0.7 0.1 6.1

2H08 0.5 12.7 3.5 0.5 2.7 5.1 3.7 0.0 3.3 2.9 10.4 45.4 4.2 6.2 0.9 15.8

CD 0.1 7.7 0.9 0.4 2.3 2.5 1.3 0.0 2.6 1.2 5.5 24.5 1.9 4.2 0.5 1.6

CP 0.2 2.1 0.9 0.1 0.4 2.2 1.6 0.0 0.6 0.6 2.9 11.7 1.1 1.0 0.2 7.8

Repo 0.0 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.1 3.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 2.3

Other 0.2 2.4 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.9 6.2 1.2 0.9 0.1 4.0

1H09 1.0 16.2 4.9 0.1 3.0 5.3 4.7 0.5 3.2 2.4 10.9 52.3 4.0 5.9 3.5 8.4

CD 0.6 11.4 2.2 0.0 2.4 3.7 2.1 0.5 2.1 1.2 6.2 32.4 1.8 4.8 3.4 1.5

CP 0.0 2.1 1.0 0.0 0.6 1.3 1.7 0.0 0.9 0.5 2.0 10.2 1.3 0.4 0.1 3.8

Repo 0.0 0.8 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.7 4.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 2.0

Other 0.4 1.9 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.3 1.0 5.6 0.9 0.5 0.0 1.0

2H09 1.8 16.4 6.0 0.4 3.2 6.1 5.3 0.3 2.9 1.5 11.2 55.2 6.2 6.0 4.7 9.2

CD 1.0 11.7 2.7 0.4 2.4 4.8 3.1 0.2 2.0 0.6 6.8 35.8 3.0 5.0 4.5 0.6

CP 0.3 2.7 1.7 0.0 0.8 0.8 1.4 0.1 0.9 0.2 1.3 10.2 2.2 0.6 0.1 2.0

Repo 0.0 0.3 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 2.6 4.8 0.0 0.1 0.0 4.6

Other 0.5 1.8 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.5 4.4 1.0 0.4 0.0 2.0

1H10 1.3 12.7 7.8 0.0 1.9 5.7 5.8 0.0 1.8 1.7 9.8 48.5 6.1 6.9 4.0 9.8

CD 0.7 9.1 2.3 0.0 1.0 4.1 2.5 0.0 1.2 0.4 5.8 27.1 2.3 5.4 3.7 0.9

CP 0.3 1.7 2.3 0.0 0.9 1.0 1.9 0.0 0.5 0.5 1.1 10.3 2.3 0.2 0.3 1.9

Repo 0.0 0.3 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 2.5 5.9 0.0 0.5 0.0 5.0

Other 0.3 1.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.4 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 5.2 1.5 0.9 0.0 2.0

2H10 1.2 14.5 7.8 0.0 1.3 6.2 5.0 0.0 0.6 3.1 9.8 49.6 7.2 7.6 5.5 9.4

CD 0.5 10.4 2.4 0.0 0.4 4.4 3.2 0.0 0.3 1.4 4.5 27.5 3.5 5.8 5.3 0.5

CP 0.3 2.2 2.1 0.0 0.9 1.1 1.6 0.0 0.2 0.3 1.9 10.7 2.6 0.4 0.2 1.2

Repo 0.0 0.6 2.5 0.0 0.0 05. 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.9 7.7 0.0 0.2 0.0 5.0

Other 0.3 1.4 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.5 3.7 1.0 1.1 0.0 2.6

Feb-11 1.0 13.3 8.2 0.0 1.5 6.3 5.9 0.0 0.2 4.2 8.6 49.6 7.0 8.0 4.9 8.0

CD 0.3 8.3 2.8 0.0 0.1 4.4 2.9 0.0 0.1 2.0 3.7 24.7 2.9 6.0 4.6 0.4

CP 0.2 2.9 2.0 0.0 1.2 1.3 1.8 0.0 0.1 0.8 1.7 12.0 3.2 0.5 0.2 1.4

Repo 0.0 0.9 2.7 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 3.2 8.5 0.0 0.2 0.1 4.0

Other 0.4 1.2 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.1 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.1 4.4 0.9 1.3 0.0 2.2

May-11 0.6 14.8 6.3 0.0 0.8 7.2 6.2 0.0 0.2 3.9 9.7 50.2 7.7 8.2 4.8 7.5

CD 0.2 9.2 2.4 0.0 0.1 5.2 3.5 0.0 0.1 2.1 5.3 28.3 3.5 6.9 4.6 0.1CP 0.1 3.7 1.2 0.0 0.6 1.5 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.3 10.7 3.2 0.5 0.0 1.1

Repo 0.0 1.0 2.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 1.4 3.1 8.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 4.4

Other 0.3 0.9 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 3.0 1.0 0.7 0.0 2.0

BEBelgium.FRFrance.DEGermany.IEIreland.ITItaly.NLNetherlands.PTPortugal.ESSpain.CHSwitzerland.UKUnitedKingdom.ATAustralia.CACanada.JPJapan.USUnitedStates.Source:FitchRatings,MMFpublicWebsites,andSEClings.


5/5 June 21, 2011

Fitch Ratings

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Theinformationinthisreportisprovidedasiswithoutanyrepresentationorwarrantyofanykind.AFitchratingisanopinionastothecreditworthinessofasecurity.Thisopinionis basedonestablishedcriteriaandmethodologiesthatFitchiscontinuouslyevaluatingandupdating.Therefore,ratingsarethecollectiveworkproductofFitchandnoindividual,orgroupofindividuals,issolelyresponsibleforarating.Theratingdoesnotaddresstheriskoflossduetorisksotherthancreditrisk,unlesssuchriskisspecicallymentioned.Fitchisnotengagedintheofferorsaleofanysecurity.AllFitchreportshavesharedauthorship.IndividualsidentiedinaFitchreportwereinvolvedin,butarenotsolelyresponsiblefor,theopinionsstatedtherein.Theindividualsarenamedforcontactpurposesonly.AreportprovidingaFitchratingisneitheraprospec-tusnorasubstitutefortheinformationassembled,veriedandpresentedtoinvestorsbytheissueranditsagentsinconnectionwiththesaleofthesecurities.RatingsmaybechangedorwithdrawnatanytimeforanyreasoninthesolediscretionofFitch.Fitchdoesnotprovideinvestmentadviceofanysort.Ratingsarenotarecommendatiotobuy,sell,orholdanysecurity.Ratingsdonotcommentontheadequacyofmarketprice,thesuitabilityofanysecurityforaparticularinvestor,orthetax-exemptnatureortaxabilityofpaymentsmadeinrespecttoanysecurity.Fitchreceivesfeesfromissuers,insurers,guarantors,otherobligors,andunderwritersforratingsecurities.SuchfeesgenerallyvaryfromUS$1,000toUS$750,000(ortheapplicablecurrencyequivalent)perissue.Incertaincases,Fitchwillratealloranumberofissuesissuedbyaparticularissuer,orinsuredorguaranteedbyaparticularinsurerorguarantor,forasingleannualfee.SuchfeesareexpectedtovaryfromUS$10,000toUS$1,500,000(ortheapplicablecurrencyequivalent).Theassignment,publication,ordisseminationofaratingbyFitchshallnotconstituteaconsentbyFitchtouseitsnameasanexpertinconnectionwithanyregistrationstatementledundertheUnitedStatessecuritieslaws,theFinancialServicesandMarketsActof2000ofGreatBritain,orthesecuritieslawsofanyparticularjurisdiction.Duetotherelativeefciencyofelectronicpublishinganddistribution,Fitchresearchmaybeavailabletoelectronicsubscribersuptothreedaysearlierthantoprintsubscribers.
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/public/ratings_defintions/index.cfm?rd_file=intro#lmt_usagehttp://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/public/ratings_defintions/index.cfm?rd_file=intro#lmt_usage

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