OREANDA-NEWS. June 24, 2015. Fitch Ratings affirms the SLM Student Loan Trust 2004-2 senior notes at 'AAAsf' and subordinate note at 'Asf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral consists of 100% of Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. The credit quality of the trust collateral is high, in Fitch's opinion, based on the guarantees provided by the transaction's eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest. Fitch currently rates the U.S. sovereign rating at 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: The senior and subordinate notes benefit from excess spread. In addition, the senior notes benefit from subordination provided by the class B note. As of the March 2015 report, total parity is 100.00% and senior parity is 104.74%. Cash is being released from the trust given that the 100% parity has been maintained.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account. The reserve is sized equal to the greater of 0.25% of the pool balance, and \\$ 4,516,068.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Navient Solutions, Inc., as servicer, is responsible for servicing the trust. Fitch deems Navient Solutions Inc., as an acceptable servicer of FFELP student loans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since the FFELP student loan ABS relies on the U.S. government to reimburse defaults, 'AAAsf' FFELP ABS ratings will likely move in tandem with the 'AAA' U.S. sovereign rating. Aside from the U.S. sovereign rating, defaults and basis risk account for the majority of the risk embedded in FFELP student loan transactions. Additional defaults and basis shock beyond Fitch's published stresses could result in future downgrades. Likewise, a build-up of CE driven by positive excess spread given favourable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE
No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

SLM Student Loan Trust 2004-2
--Class A-5 notes at 'AAAsf; Outlook Stable;
--Class A-6 notes at 'AAAsf; Outlook Stable;
--Class B notes at 'Asf'; Outlook Stable.