OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the senior notes issued by Mississippi Higher Education Assistance Corp., Series 2014 A-1 at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook on all notes, which is tied to the sovereign rating of the U.S. government, is 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. 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: CE is provided by excess spread and overcollateralization. Additionally the class A notes benefit from subordination provided by the class B notes. Parity levels continue to increase as cash cannot be released until all the notes are paid-in-full. As of the June 2015 distribution report, the senior and total parity levels were at 105.21% and 102.17%, respectively.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account. The reserve is sized equal to the greater of 0.25% of the outstanding notes balance or $600,000. The balance of the reserve account as of June 2015 was $876,610.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: ACS Education Loan Services will be responsible for servicing 100% of the MHEAC 2014 portfolio. Nelnet, Inc. will serve as the back-up servicer. In Fitch's opinion, both entities are acceptable servicers of FFELP student loans.

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 CE 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:

Mississippi Higher Education Assistance Corp., Series 2014:
--Series 2014 A-1 notes at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.