OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the ratings on the class A and B notes issued by Panhandle-Plains Student Finance Corporation - SFC 2001 Trust Indenture (TX). The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral consists of 77.44% 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. The current U.S. sovereign rating is 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook. The remaining 22.56% of the portfolio consists of private student loans. The projected remaining defaults as a percent of the current pool balance on the private student loans are expected to range between 16% and 19%. A recovery rate of 15% was applied, which was determined to be appropriate based on data provided by the issuer.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit Enhancement (CE) is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. In addition, the class A notes benefit from subordination from the class B notes. As of June 2015, the reported senior parity is 150.66% (33.63% CE), and total parity is 131.68% (24.06% CE). The cash release level is 103%; however, funds can only be released if the rating agencies' approve of such a release. To date, there have been no requests to release cash from the trust and total parity has risen to 131.68%.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account. The reserve is sized equal to the greater of 2.00% of the bond balance, and floor of $500,000.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: ACS Education Services (ACS) and Navient Solutions are responsible for the day to day servicing and administration of the student loans. Fitch believes both entities to be acceptable servicers of 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 build-up of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions and better performance from the private student loans could lead to future upgrades.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

Fitch was not provided due diligence information from any third parties relating to the Panhandle-Plains Student Finance Corporation - SFC 2001 Trust Indenture (TX).

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

Plains Student Finance Corporation - SFC 2001 Trust Indenture (TX)

--Series 2001 A-1 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--Series 2001 A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;
--Series 2001 B-1 at 'Asf'; Outlook Stable.