Toronto-based Dominion Bond Rating Service says it has rated over US$100 billion in U.S. asset-backed and U.S. residential mortgage-backed transactions since opening its New York office in March 2004.

In addition, DBRS’s rating was one of two ratings in 15% of these transactions, further validating the agency’s acceptance by the capital markets.

“The success of our ABS and RMBS teams demonstrates the strength of the DBRS rating,” says Michael Nelson, managing director U.S. Structured Finance. “There is a growing acknowledgement of our position in the entire fixed income market.”

Transactions rated by DBRS include those from the issuers such as Banc of America, CSFB, Daimler Chrysler,
Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

“This milestone is a significant step in the development of DBRS’s presence in the U.S. capital markets,” says Greg Nelson, group managing director, Structured Finance.

DBRS has U.S. offices in New York and Chicago, covering RMBS, CMBS, ABS, CDOs, ABCP Financial Guaranty, and financial institutions, and expects to have rated over US$150 billion in U.S. structured transactions by year-end 2005.