Standard&Poor's Ratings Services reviewed 413 U.S. credit card asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions in 2009 that received originator support between Jan. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009. We placed approximately 311 rated credit card ABS transactions on CreditWatch with negative implications during the same time period. We focused our reviews on rating transitions that would have been likely, absent any additional support by the originator. Earlier this year, we reported that our ratings on many transactions would have remained within the same rating category without the additional support from the issuers (see "U.S. ABS Credit Ratings Would Have Remained Relatively Stable Even Without Additional Support," published Jan. 25, 2010). Throughout the course of our study, we found that 236
