Fitch Affirms New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation - 1998 Trust Indenture

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings affirms the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation - 1998 Trust Indenture senior notes at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral comprises Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans with guaranties provided by eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest. Fitch's current U.S. sovereign rating is 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of March 2015, total parity is 112.79%, and the trust cannot release excess cash until the cash release parity level of 130.00% is met.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a $38,000,000 supplemental reserve subaccount and a debt service reserve fund sized at the greater of 1% of the bonds outstanding or $1,000,000. The supplemental reserve subaccount will step down in value on the September 2015 distribution date, and will be fully released as of the September 2017 distribution date.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Servicing is provided by the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation (NMEAF). Great Lakes Education Loan Services, Inc. (Great Lakes) is the backup servicer. Fitch has reviewed the servicing operations of both NMEAF and Great Lakes and believes them to be acceptable servicers of FFELP student loans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since the 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 the 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 CE driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

A comparison of the transaction's Representations, Warranties & Enforcement Mechanisms (RW&Es) to those of typical RW&Es for that asset class is available by accessing the appendix that accompanies the initial Presale Report. Please refer to 'New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation, Series 2013-1 --Appendix', published on April 26, 2013 at www.fitchratings.com.

Initial Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities further described in the presale report published on April 26, 2013.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation - 1998 Trust Indenture

--Series 2001A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2002A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2003A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2004A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2007A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2007A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2015 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2016 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2017 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2018 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2019 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009B-2020 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2009C-2015 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;

--Series 2013-1 A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Applicable Criteria

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria (pub. 06 Jul 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=867952

Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria (pub. 23 Jun 2014)

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

Related Research

New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation, Series 2013-1 -- Appendix

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=707421

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=989096

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=989096

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150806005901/en/

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Harry Kohl
Associate Director
+1-212-908-0837
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
33 Whitehall St.
New York, NY 10004
or
Committee Chairperson
Kevin Corrigan
Senior Director
+1-212-908-9156
or
Media Relations:
Alyssa Castelli, +1 212-908-0540
[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Monster Energy's Max Alran Takes First Place in Downhill Mountain Bike Race at the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Les Gets
• Top Meme Coin To Buy: Pipedog Selling Persists Despite 3,294% APY as AlphaPepe Stage 20 Keeps Filling
• Last Chance to Join the Apeing Whitelist Before This Upcoming Crypto Coin Rivals Monero and Ethereum