Moody’s Investors Service was the most active rating service in the growing non-mortgage ABS market during the first half of 2012, but a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis shows that the company followed a somewhat unusual path to get there. Auto loan ABS has been the dominant sector in the market this year, accounting for 47.3 percent of new issuance through the first six months of 2012. But Moody’s share of auto ABS ratings has slipped from 79.0 percent in 2011 to 77.2 percent this year – although that’s still higher than any of its competitors. Moody’s also boosted its share of business loan ABS ratings, a large number of which are vehicle dealer floorplan transactions. Credit card ABS have made...[Includes two data charts]