Fitch Affirms Access Group, Inc. 2002 Indenture of Trust

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings affirms the Access Group, Inc. 2002 Indenture of Trust senior notes at 'AAAsf' and the subordinate notes at 'B-sf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable for all the notes.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality

The trust collateral is comprised of 100% of Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. The credit quality of the trust collateral is high, in Fitch's opinion, based on the guarantees provided by the transaction's eligible guarantors and at least 97% reinsurance of principal and accrued interest provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The current U.S. sovereign rating is 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement

Credit enhancement is provided by excess spread and overcollateralization. Additionally the class A notes benefit from subordination provided by the class B notes. As of January 2015, the total and senior parity levels remains at 98.15% and 105.89%, respectively. No cash is currently being released from the trust given the trust has not reached its release level threshold of 101% total parity.

Adequate Liquidity Support

Liquidity support is provided by a capitalized interest account where the balance is determined as the greater of 0.25% of the outstanding notes and $2,862,081 (0.15% of the original total note balance).

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities

ACS, as the servicer, is responsible for the day-to-day servicing of this trust. In Fitch's opinion, ACS is an acceptable servicer of FFELP student loans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since FFELP student loan ABS relies on the U.S. government to reimburse defaults, 'AAAsf' FFELP ABS ratings will likely move in tandem with the 'AAA' U.S. sovereign rating. Aside from the U.S. sovereign rating, defaults and basis risk account for majority of the risk embedded in FFELP student loan transactions. Additional defaults and basis shock beyond Fitch's published stresses could result in future downgrades. Likewise, a buildup of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

Senior Notes:

--2002-1 A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2002-1 A-4 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2003-1 A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2003-1 A-4 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2003-1 A-5 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2003-1 A-6 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2004-1 A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2004-1 A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2004-1 A-4 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--2004-1 A-5 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

Subordinate Notes:

--2002-1 B at 'B-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--2003-1 B at 'B-sf'; Outlook Stable;

--2004-1 B at 'B-sf'; Outlook Stable.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' (August 2014);

--'Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria' (June 2014).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=754389

Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750530

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=981453

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 MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst:
Emily Lee, +1-212-908-0667
Director
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
or
Committee Chairperson:
Tracy Wan, +1-212-908-9171
Senior Director
or
Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278
Media Relations, New York
[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

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