Fitch Ratings said today that Accredited Home Lenders, Inc. has been placed on negative ratings watch — newsworthy given the servicer’s already lowly ‘RPS3-‘ subprime servicer rating. Very few major servicing operations can compete in an industry defined by razor-thin margins with an ‘RPS4’ rating or lower.

The Rating Watch reflects the continued pressure on LEND’s liquidity position in the increasingly challenged subprime mortgage market. Fitch does not publicly rate the credit and financial strength of LEND. However, a company’s financial condition is an important component of Fitch’s servicer rating analysis … Based on recent discussions regarding operational stability and performance, Accredited’s servicing platform continues to perform at a level consistent with Fitch’s prior assessment. At this time, Fitch does not anticipate any material disruptions in Accredited’s servicing operations.