S&P Puts ABS Synthetic Sec Ratings On Watch Negative

    NEW YORK--Standard & Poor's--Aug. 23, 2001-- Standard & Poor's today placed its ratings on CorTS Trust for Ford Debentures and PreferredPlus Trust Series FRD-1 (two asset-backed synthetic securities) on CreditWatch with negative implications due to the recent rating action concerning Ford Motor Co. (see list).
    The rating actions on the two ABS synthetic securities reflect the CreditWatch placement taken by Standard & Poor's on Ford Motor Co. The ratings on Ford Motor Co. and its related entities were placed on CreditWatch with negative implications on Aug. 17, 2001 in response to heightened concern about the long-range profit potential of the automaker. The ratings on both CorTS Trust for Ford Debentures and PreferredPlus Trust are dependent on the rating of the underlying assets held by the trust, which are Ford Motor Co. debentures.
    For the complete Standard & Poor's press release related to the rating action on Ford Motor Co. please refer to the article entitled "Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. Ratings Placed on CreditWatch Negative" released Aug. 17, 2001 on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's real-time source for credit rating information at www.ratingsdirect.com. It is also available on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com.

CorTS Trust For Ford Debentures
US $300 million corporate-backed trust securities
        Rating
To                 From
A/Watch Neg        A

PreferredPlus Trust Series FRD-1
$50 million trust certs
        Rating
To                 From
A/Watch Neg        A