Fitch Rates Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust's Class 2005-C5 Notes 'BBB'

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2005

NEW YORK -- Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust's (CCCIT) $200 million 4.95% class 2005-C5 notes are rated 'BBB' by Fitch Ratings. This rating addresses the transaction's ability to make timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal by the legal maturity date.

The notes issued by CCCIT are secured by a collateral certificate issued by Citibank Credit Card Master Trust I (CCIMTI), as well as certain trust accounts held by the indenture trustee and any applicable derivative agreements. The collateral certificate represents an undivided interest in the assets of CCIMTI. CCIMTI consists of receivables generated from Visa and MasterCard credit card accounts originated by Citibank (Nevada) and Citibank (South Dakota).

The rating reflects the credit quality of the collateral certificate, which is based on the quality of the receivables that make up CCIMTI, the available credit enhancement, the servicing expertise of Citibank (South Dakota), and the transaction's sound legal and financial structure. Credit enhancement for the class 2005-C5 notes consists of the class C reserve account, which has an initial balance of zero and will be funded from excess spread upon breaching certain excess spread triggers.

Unless an event of default or early redemption event occurs, class 2005-C5 investors will receive semi-annual interest payments of 4.95% on the 24th of each April and October, beginning April 2006. Class 2005-C5 notes have an expected principal payment date of Oct. 24, 2008 and a legal maturity date of Oct. 25, 2010. The notes are part of the Citiseries subclass of notes in CCCIT, which is a multiple issuance series. As of the issuance date of the class 2005-C5 notes, the total invested amount of notes of the Citiseries will be $61.01 billion, consisting of $53.82 billion in class A notes, $2.64 billion in class B notes, and $4.55 billion in class C notes.

CCCIT is a Delaware statutory business trust that has been structured to allow maximum flexibility in issuance, as well as The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) eligibility for all classes of notes. The innovative structure utilized by CCCIT allows for the sale of a single issuance series, which is a typical credit card A/B/C structure, as well as a multiple issuance series. In a single issuance series, the class A, class B, and class C notes are issued concurrently and have similar maturities, with the subordinate classes of that series supporting the senior classes. A multiple issuance series also consists of class A, class B, and class C notes, with subclasses that may be offered independently and have differing terms, issuance dates, and maturities. All of the subclasses of subordinated notes in a multiple issuance series support the senior classes of that series. Although notes of a multiple issuance series can be offered on any date, senior notes may only be offered to the extent the required subordinate amount is outstanding at that time, without regard to the expected maturity of the subordinated notes.

CCCIT contains standard early redemption events designed to protect investors from deteriorating collateral performance, as well as standard events of default. If an early redemption event or event of default occurs, investors will receive principal on an accelerated schedule, with senior notes receiving principal payments first.

For historical trust performance on Citibank Credit Card Master Trust I, see Fitch ABS surveillance, available on the Fitch web site at www.fitchratings.com.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 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.