OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has affirmed the senior notes at 'AAAsf' for the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, Series 2009-1 (MOHELA 2009). 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 (CE): CE is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of May 2015, parity is 112.90% (11.43% CE). The parity for MOHELA's 2009 trust has been steadily increasing as the trust is a full turbo structure; therefore, no cash is released until the note is paid in full.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a Debt Service Reserve Fund currently sized at the greater of 0.25% of the pool balance and $290,060.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) is responsible for servicing the trust. Fitch believes that MOHELA is 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 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:

Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, Series 2009-1:

--Class A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.