dv01 and Fitch Ratings Launch HELOC Dataset to Enhance Second Lien Benchmarking

Dataset Captures 80% of Rated HELOC Issuance, Providing Insights on Enhanced Credit Performance and Borrower Behavior

NEW YORK, July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- dv01, a leading capital markets fintech driving technological innovation and loan-level transparency in structured finance, and Fitch Ratings, one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies, today announced the launch of the Fitch-dv01 HELOC Benchmark, the latest addition to the companies' co-branded mortgage benchmarking initiative.

The benchmark provides institutional investors and issuers with the most comprehensive view into performance across the fast-growing home equity line of credit ("HELOC") market. Sourcing from securitizations where dv01 serves as Loan Data Agent ("LDA") and Fitch-rated transactions, the benchmark standardizes performance metrics across shelves and issuers—delivering consistent, transparent insights into credit quality, prepayment trends, and borrower behavior. It is available through dv01's web application and data feed.

The HELOC market has experienced a resurgence, with nationwide balances rising 9.7% year over year to $359.9 billion in 2024, driven by strong borrower credit quality, rising home values, and increased origination activity from both bank and non-bank lenders. Despite this growth, meaningful performance analysis has remained difficult due to data fragmentation, inconsistencies in reporting formats, and limited visibility into key credit metrics.

"This benchmark reinforces our mission of bringing transparency to structured credit markets through high-quality data and modern infrastructure," said Perry Rahbar, Founder and CEO of dv01. "We're providing investors with a consistent view of risk and empowering issuers to understand how their platforms are performing relative to the broader market. It's a powerful tool for informing decisions and presenting a data-backed view of platform performance."

Broadening HELOC Horizons

The Fitch-dv01 HELOC Benchmark covers 80% of rated HELOC securitization volume since 2019, with over 144,000 loans and $11.2 billion in original balance included. As more transactions are onboarded to the dv01 platform, coverage is expected to expand further.

The average outstanding loan balance is $66,200, with a CLTV of 67.5% (including first lien), a 30+ day delinquency rate of 1.9%, and a weighted average FICO of 737. Prepayment speeds stand at 21.6% one-month CPR and 19.1% six-month CPR, while defaults rain low at 0.2% one-month CDR and 0.5% six-month CDR. The weighted average coupon is 10.2%.

Performance varies by borrower credit profile. Sub-700 FICO borrowers represent just 26.5% of the outstanding balance but account for 58% of delinquencies. Specifically, sub-660 FICO borrowers are struggling, accounting just 6% of balances but 23% delinquencies. Conversely, borrowers with FICOs over 780 account for 23.5% of balances but only 4.5% of delinquencies. Additionally, 74% of loans have a line-of-credit utilization over 90%.

Expanding a Trusted Benchmarking Suite

With the addition of the HELOC Benchmark, dv01 and Fitch's co-branded mortgage benchmarking initiative now includes four mortgage datasets across the U.S. non-agency mortgage markets—Non-QM, Prime Jumbo, and Closed-End Seconds. Together, these benchmarks support dv01's broader mission to bring normalized, high-quality data and embedded analytics to the forefront of structured credit analysis.

"As the second lien market expands, access to consistent, loan-level performance data is essential," said Kevin Kendra, Managing Director and Head of North American RMBS at Fitch Ratings. "This benchmark provides transparency to investors and issuers looking to evaluate risk across a diverse and evolving HELOC landscape."

Additional benchmarks are available to dv01's Market Surveillance subscribers, covering asset classes beyond mortgage—including Consumer Unsecured and Auto. More information can be found here. dv01 is a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions. Fitch Solutions and Fitch Ratings are both subsidiaries of Fitch Group.

About dv01

dv01 is a capital markets fintech company driving technological innovation and loan-level transparency in structured finance. As the first end-to-end data management, reporting, and analytics platform built for loan-level lending data, dv01 brings clarity and intelligence to every loan for every stakeholder. With over 240 million loans, 1,300 securitizations, and $6 trillion in original balance across consumer, mortgage, auto, student loan, point of sale, home efficiency, and small business asset classes, dv01 aims to build the most comprehensive loan data library in the market. dv01 is a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions.

About Fitch Ratings

As one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies, Fitch Ratings plays a critical role in global capital markets by providing credit analysis, ratings, research, and commentary to financial market participants. For over 100 years, Fitch Ratings has been creating value for global markets through its rigorous analysis and deep expertise, which have resulted in a variety of market leading tools, methodologies, indices, research, and analytical products. Fitch Ratings is part of Fitch Group, a global leader in financial information services with operations in 30 countries, which also includes Fitch Solutions. With dual headquarters in London and New York, Fitch Group is owned by Hearst. For additional information, please visit fitchratings.com.

Contacts
For Media Inquiries:
Giovanni Berber
press@dv01.co

Anne Wilhelm
anne.wilhelm@thefitchgroup.com