NEW YORK - (Business Wire) Fitch Ratings affirms the senior student loan notes of the Mississippi Higher Education Assistance Corporation (MHEAC) 1993 Master Trust. The trust has been producing positive excess spread, and the parity for the senior notes is at 140.56% as of Sept. 30, 2009. A complete list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release. Fitch's Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria was used to review the ratings and the affirmation is based on the performance of the trust in-line with the expectation. The existence of auction rate securities has not had a significant impact on the trust performance. The Stable Outlook is assigned because, with the significant buildup of parity for the senior notes, the ratings are expected to remain stable for the next two years. The subordinate student loan notes which are on Rating Watch Negative will be reviewed separately upon the completion of the updated basis risk analysis.
The collateral supporting the MHEAC 1993 Master Trust bonds consists entirely of federally guaranteed student loans originated under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). FFELP loans are guaranteed at least 97% of principal and accrued interest, depending on the loan origination date. The loans are serviced by Chase Student Loan Servicing and AES, neither of which carry a Fitch rating.
Fitch affirms and assigns Outlooks to the following senior classes of MHEAC 1993 Master Trust:
--Class 1996-A bonds at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;
--Class 1998-B bonds at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable.
The following applicable criteria report is available on Fitch's web site at 'www.fitchratings.com': 'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria', dated Sept. 30, 2009.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE.
Fitch Ratings, New York
Emily Lee, +1-212-908-0667
Aoto Kenmochi, +1-212-908-0867
Media Relations
Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278
sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com
