OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the ratings of the notes issued by Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency 2006 Trust Indenture for the senior and subordinate notes at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook is Stable for all notes.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral is comprised 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 at least 97% reinsurance of principal and accrued interest provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The current ratings of the U.S are 'AAA', Outlook Stable.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: CE is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance), excess spread, and for the class A notes, subordination provided by the class B notes. As of the March 2015 distribution report, total and senior parity is 104% and 113.8% respectively.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a Debt Service Reserve Account in the amount of $729,541.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Day-to-day servicing is provided by PHEAA. Fitch believes PHEAA to be an acceptable servicer at this time.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Since FFELP student loan ABS rely 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 buildup of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable 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:

PHEAA 2006 Trust Indenture
--Class A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--Class A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--Class B at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.