Approximately $139 million asset-backed securities affected
New York, July 27, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service has upgraded twelve classes of bond issued
by Rhode Island Student Loan Authority under a master indenture established
as of January 1, 2004. The underlying collateral consists
of a pool of private student loans that are not guaranteed or reinsured
under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) or any other federal
student loan program.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The primary driver for the upgrade is the continued build-up in
credit enhancement, shown as the total parity ratio, i.e.
the ratio of total assets to total liabilities. The total parity
has increased from 106.6% in 2008 to 120.2%
as of the most recent reporting date. In addition, an amendment
of the transaction documents increased the target parity level from 103%
to 117%. After the amendment, even if the bond insurer
agreed with the release of excess cash, the parity after release
has to be at least 117%, further reducing negative credit
impact due to excess cash release.
Available credit enhancement to the transactions includes overcollateralization,
reserve funds, and excess spread. Significant structural
features include a reserve fund floor, which results in a build-up
in credit enhancement as a percentage of the amortizing pool balance.
Our expected remaining net loss as a percentage of the remaining pool
balance is approximately 7.4%. The ratings of the
2004 A-2 tranche could be upgraded in the future if the expected
remaining net loss is 10% lower, or downgraded if the expected
remaining net loss is 10% higher. Further upgrade is possible
in the future depending on the information we receive regarding the cumulative
default information by repayment year and loan type.
The principal methodology used in these rating actions was "Moody's Approach
to Rating U.S. Private Student Loan-Backed Securities",
published on January 6th, 2010 and available at www.moodys.com
in the Rating Methodologies sub-directory under the Research &
Ratings tab. Other methodologies and factors that may have been
considered in the process of rating this issue can also be found in the
Rating Methodologies sub-directory on Moody's website.
To assess rating implications of the higher expected losses, each
individual transaction was run through a variety of stress scenarios using
the Structured Finance Workstation® (SFW), a cash flow model
developed by Moody's Wall Street Analytics.
The performance expectations for a given variable indicate Moody's forward-looking
view of the likely range of performance over the medium term. From
time to time, Moody's may, if warranted, change these
expectations. Performance that falls outside the given range may
indicate that the collateral's credit quality is stronger or weaker than
Moody's had anticipated when the related securities ratings were issued.
Even so, a deviation from the expected range will not necessarily
result in a rating action nor does performance within expectations preclude
such actions. The decision to take (or not take) a rating action
is dependent on an assessment of a range of factors including, but
not exclusively, the performance metrics. Primary sources
of uncertainty with regard to expected loss are the weak economic environment
and the high unemployment rate, which adversely impacts the income-generating
ability of the borrowers.
RATINGS
Issuer: Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (2004 Indenture)
2004-A2, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Mar 12,
2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-8, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-9, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-10, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-11, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-12, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2004-A3-13, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously on
Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2006 Ser. 1, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Mar
12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2006 Ser. 2, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Mar
12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2006 Ser. 3-1, Upgraded to A2 (sf); previously
on Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2006 Ser. 3-2, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously
on Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
2006 Ser. 3-3, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously
on Mar 12, 2012 B2 (sf) Placed Under Review for Possible Upgrade
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
The Global Scale Credit Ratings on this press release that are issued
by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU are endorsed by Moody's Investors
Service Ltd., One Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E 14 5FA, UK, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office
that has issued a particular Credit Rating is available on www.moodys.com.
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following:
parties involved in the ratings, parties not involved in the ratings,
public information, confidential and proprietary Moody's Investors
Service information, and confidential and proprietary Moody's Analytics
information.
Moody's did not receive or take into account a third-party assessment
on the due diligence performed regarding the underlying assets or financial
instruments related to the monitoring of this transaction in the past
six months.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated entity,
obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing a rating.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses
in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not an auditor
and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information
received in the rating process.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%) and
for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may exist
between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names of
entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported to
the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%. A
member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a member
of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating Process
page on www.moodys.com for further information on the meaning
of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history.
The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time
before Moody's ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not
be available. Consequently, Moody's provides a date that
it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information
that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page
on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
JingJing Dang
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Structured Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
John Park
MD - Structured Finance
Structured Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's upgrades twelve classes of bonds issued by Rhode Island Student Loan Authority