OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation - 1998 Trust Indenture senior notes at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral comprises Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans with guaranties provided by eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest. Fitch's current U.S. sovereign rating is 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit enhancement (CE) is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of March 2015, total parity is 112.79%, and the trust cannot release excess cash until the cash release parity level of 130.00% is met.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a \\$38,000,000 supplemental reserve subaccount and a debt service reserve fund sized at the greater of 1% of the bonds outstanding or \\$1,000,000. The supplemental reserve subaccount will step down in value on the September 2015 distribution date, and will be fully released as of the September 2017 distribution date.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Servicing is provided by the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation (NMEAF). Great Lakes Education Loan Services, Inc. (Great Lakes) is the backup servicer. Fitch has reviewed the servicing operations of both NMEAF and Great Lakes and believes them to be acceptable servicers 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 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.

A comparison of the transaction's Representations, Warranties & Enforcement Mechanisms (RW&Es) to those of typical RW&Es for that asset class is available by accessing the appendix that accompanies the initial Presale Report. Please refer to 'New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation, Series 2013-1 --Appendix', published on April 26, 2013 at www.fitchratings.com.

Initial Key Rating Drivers and Rating Sensitivities further described in the presale report published on April 26, 2013.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation - 1998 Trust Indenture
--Series 2001A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2002A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2003A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2004A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2007A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2007A-2 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2015 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2016 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2017 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2018 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2019 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009B-2020 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2009C-2015 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable;
--Series 2013-1 A-1 at 'AAAsf', Outlook Stable.