Fitch Ratings Affirms Hamilton CDO, Ltd

Business Wire, Nov 12, 2004

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings affirms two classes of notes issued by Hamilton CDO, Ltd. (Hamilton CDO). These affirmations are the result of Fitch's rating review process. The following rating actions are effective immediately:

-- $333 million class A-1 senior secured insured notes affirmed at 'AAA';

-- $62.6 million class A-2 senior secured insured notes affirmed at 'AAA'.

Hamilton CDO is a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) managed by Stanfield Capital Partners, LLC, (Stanfield). The CDO was issued Dec. 4, 2001 and is comprised of approximately 90% senior secured loans and 10% high yield bonds. Included in this review, Fitch discussed the current state of the portfolio with the asset manager and their portfolio management strategy going forward.

Since the last rating action, the collateral has continued to perform within expectations. Hamilton CBO is in its revolving period with one year remaining. The class A-1 and class A-2 overcollateralization (OC) tests have improved from 133.8% to 137.1% for the A-1 OC test and from 112.7% to 115.4% for the A-2 OC test from October 2003 to September 2004. The weighted average spread has declined to 3.05% however it is still above its required level of 2.80%. Assets rated 'CCC ' or lower in the portfolio decreased since the last rating review from 7.84% to 3.13%. Hamilton CDO is currently passing all of its performance tests.

The ratings of the class A-1 and class A-2 notes address the likelihood that investors will receive full and timely payments of interest, as per the governing documents, as well as the stated balance of principal by the legal final maturity date. The ratings for the class A-1 and A-2 notes are based on the Insurance Policy provided by XL Capital Assurance Inc. (rated 'AAA' by Fitch).

As a result of this analysis, Fitch has determined that the current ratings assigned to the class A-1, and class A-2 notes still reflect the current risk to noteholders.

Fitch will continue to monitor and review this transaction for future rating adjustments. Additional deal information and historical data are available on the Fitch Ratings web site at www.fitchratings.com. (For more information on the Fitch VECTOR Model, see 'Global Rating Criteria for Collateralised Debt Obligations,' dated Sept. 13, 2004, available on Fitch's web site at www.fitchratings.com).