Business Services Industry

Fitch Assigns Ratings to GMAC ELF Student Loan Notes

Business Wire, Sept 30, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003

Today, Fitch Ratings assigns the following ratings to GMAC Education Loan Funding (GMAC ELF) Student Loan Asset-Backed Notes, Series 2003-2 issued by the GMAC Education Loan Funding Trust-I:

-- $100,000,000 Class A-1L 'AAA';

-- $32,000,000 Class A-4AR 'AAA';

-- $60,000,000 Class A-5AR 'AAA';

-- $8,000,000 Class B-2AR 'A'.

Additionally, Fitch confirms the following ratings on the outstanding debt issued by the trust:

-- $78,000,000 Series 2003-1, Class A-1AR 'AAA';

-- $78,000,000 Series 2003-1, Class A-2AR 'AAA';

-- $50,000,000 Series 2003-1, Class A-3AR 'AAA';

-- $14,000,000 Series 2003-1, Class B-1AR 'A'.

The ratings are based on the quality of the student loan portfolio, comprised entirely of Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) consolidation loans; the credit enhancement provided in the trust; the ability of the transaction to pass cash flow stresses at each rating level; and the sound legal structure of the transaction. Credit enhancement consists of excess spread, subordination, and a reserve account sized to the greater of $500,000, or an amount equal to 1.0% of the principal amount of bonds outstanding.

The ratings address the ability of the trust to pay principal at maturity and pay timely accrued interest. The ratings do not address the ability of the trust to pay carry-over interest or the ability of auction-rate bondholders to successfully redeem their bonds at an auction now or in the future.

Proceeds from the issuance of the Series 2003-2, Class A-1L, A-4AR, and B-2AR notes will be used to acquire FFELP consolidation loans by November 30, 2003, make a deposit to the reserve account, and pay costs of issuance. Proceeds from the issuance of the Class A-5AR notes, expected occur on or before January 31, 2004, will be used to acquire additional FFELP consolidation loans by April 30, 2004, and pay certain costs of issuance.

Interest on the Series 2003-2, Class A-1L notes is equal to the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 10 basis points and paid quarterly on the 25th day of each February, May, August, and November, beginning in November 2003. Interest on the Series 2003-2, Class A-1L, A-4AR, and B-2AR notes is based on the results of 28-day auctions and is payable on the first day following each auction period. The legal final maturity of the class A-1L is May 25, 2013 and the legal final of the auction-rate classes is September 1, 2040.

In addition to two LIBOR derivative product agreements with Citibank, N.A. ('AA /F1 ') that the trust has entered into at the closing of the 2003-1 transaction, the trust has entered into five similar agreements at the closing of the 2003-2 transaction. The seven agreements have varying notional amounts, interest rates, start dates, and termination dates. Under the terms of each of the agreements, Citibank will pay to the trust monthly a floating amount based on one-month LIBOR and receive from the trust a fixed rate per annum.

The collateral securing all of the notes issued by the trust consists entirely of FFELP consolidation loans, which are guaranteed 100% or 98% by an eligible guarantor and re-insured by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) depending on their disbursement date.

The sponsor, GMAC ELF LLC, is a bankruptcy remote, Delaware limited liability company in which GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Corp., a Colorado corporation, is the only economic member. GMAC ELF was formed to acquire and hold student loans and to sell these student loans to the issuer trust (GMAC Education Loan Funding Trust-I). Because GMAC ELF and the trust are not institutions eligible to hold legal title to student loans, an eligible lender trustee, Zions First National Bank ('A-/F1'), will hold legal title to the student loans on behalf of the trust and GMAC ELF.

GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Corp. is the servicing contractor and will contract with various other loan servicers or subservicers on the trust's behalf and will not be obligated to perform the loan servicing. At this time, the only other loan servicers include Great Lakes Educational Loan Services and ACS Education Services, Inc.

The co-managers on this transaction are Citigroup, GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Markets Corp., and William R. Hough & Co.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

 

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