Fitch Affirms Northstar Series 2012-1

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings affirms the 'AAAsf' rating assigned to the senior student loan asset-backed notes issued by the NorthStar Student Loan Trust I, series 2012-1. The Rating Outlook on the senior notes is Stable. A detailed list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Adequate 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. The current rating for the U.S is 'AAA', Outlook Stable

Sufficient Credit Enhancement (CE): CE is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust' asset balance over bond balance), excess spread, and for the class A notes, subordination provided by the class B notes. As of the August 2015 distribution report, total and senior parity is 108.17% and 108.80% respectively.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by $1.11 million reserve account.

Satisfactory Servicing Capabilities: Day-to-day servicing is provided by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. Fitch believes the servicing operations are acceptable at this time.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since FFELP student loan ABS rely 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 credit enhancement 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.

Fitch has affirmed the following rating:

NorthStar Student Loan Trust I, Student Loan Asset-Backed Notes, Series 2012-1:

--Class A 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

NorthStar Student Loan Trust I, Series 2012-1 -- Appendix

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=691436

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=990713

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=990713

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/20150911005817/en/

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Nicole Edwards
Director
+1-212-908-9114
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
or
Committee Chairperson
Tracy Wan
Senior Director
+1-212-908-9171
or
Media Relations:
Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278
[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings

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