Fitch Affirms Southwest Corporate FCU's IDR at 'AA-'; Outlook Stable

Business Wire, Oct 23, 2006

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) and short-term issuer rating for Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union (Southwest) at 'AA-' and 'F1 ', respectively. The Rating Outlook is Stable. A complete list of ratings is provided at the end of this release.

Southwest's ratings reflect the company's low credit risk profile and substantial balance sheet liquidity. Capital levels are sound given the low risk nature of the balance sheet. Southwest is conservatively managed and the company fulfills its mission as a corporate credit union without taking on undue risk. Further, Fitch recognizes the significance of Southwest's franchise within the corporate credit union network. The company is the second largest corporate credit union by total assets ($10.8 billion) and the largest in terms of total members (1,257 members) as of June 30, 2006.

Separately, the planned merger between Southwest and Southeast Corporate Federal Credit Union (Southeast) has been discontinued. The recent breakdown of the merger did not disrupt the company's operations or negatively influence the company's ratings.

Fitch affirmed the following ratings with a Stable Outlook:

Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union

--Long-term IDR 'AA-';

--Short-term issuer 'F1 ';

--Short-term debt 'F1 ';

--Individual, 'A/B';

--Support '4'.

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.