OREANDA-NEWS. S&P Global Ratings today said it has affirmed its 'A-1+ (sf)' rating on the asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) issued by New Zealand Permanent Trustees Ltd. as trustee of the Heartland ABCP Trust 1. The rating affirmation follows a restructure of the trust.

Heartland ABCP Trust 1 is a single-seller, ABCP program sponsored by the New Zealand-based Heartland Bank Ltd. (Heartland). The ABCP is backed by hire purchase agreements, finance leases, and loans secured by motor vehicles and equipment and originated by MARAC, a division of Heartland Bank Ltd.

The restructuring of the Trust involved the replacement of Heartland as Trust Manager with AMAL New Zealand Ltd. (with certain functions delegated to Heartland) and a change in the beneficiary of the Trust, with the intention of ensuring that the Trust would not be considered an associated person of Heartland.

The affirmation reflects:Our view of the transaction's documented eligibility criteria, portfolio parameters, and amortization triggers;Our view of the credit risk of the underlying portfolio of receivables;Our expectation that the credit support provided by Heartland in the form of a subordinated loan, which is sized dynamically, is sufficient to withstand the stresses we apply;The credit quality of Westpac New Zealand Ltd. and Bank of New Zealand, the counterparties to the liquidity facility provided to support the timely redemption of the ABCP; andSwaps provided by appropriately rated counterparties to hedge the mismatch between the fixed-rate payments on the receivables and the floating rate obligations on the ABCP.