OREANDA-NEWS. S&P Global Ratings today assigned its preliminary ratings to seven of the eight classes of small-ticket commercial mortgage-backed, floating-rate, pass-through notes to be issued by Liberty Funding Pty Ltd. in respect of Liberty Series 2016-1 SME (see list). Liberty Series 2016-1 SME is a securitization of loans to commercial borrowers, secured by first-registered mortgages over Australian commercial or residential properties originated by Liberty Financial Pty Ltd. (Liberty).

The preliminary ratings reflect:Our view of the credit risk of the underlying collateral portfolio, including the fact that this is a closed portfolio, which means no further loans will be assigned to the trust after the closing date. Our view that the credit support is sufficient to withstand the stresses we apply. This credit support comprises note subordination for each class of rated note. Our expectation that the various mechanisms to support liquidity within the transaction, including an amortizing liquidity facility equal to 3.0% of the outstanding balance of the notes, and principal draws, are sufficient under our stress assumptions to ensure timely payment of interest. The A$2,650,000 guarantee fee reserve account funded at close by Liberty and topped up with excess spread to the extent drawn. The reserve account may be utilized as liquidity support for required payments or to meet current loan losses. The extraordinary expense reserve of A$250,000, funded from day one by Liberty, available to meet extraordinary expenses. The reserve will be topped up via excess spread if drawn. The interest-rate swap agreement with Westpac Banking Corp. to hedge any receipts from fixed-rate mortgage loans against the floating-rate obligations of the issuer trust.

A copy of S&P Global Ratings' complete report for Liberty Series 2016-1 SME can be found on RatingsDirect, S&P Global Ratings' web-based credit analysis system, at http://www. globalcreditportal. com.

The issuer has not informed Standard & Poor's (Australia) Pty Limited whether the issuer is publically disclosing all relevant information about the structured finance instruments the subject of this press release or whether relevant information remains non-public.