OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the senior student loan notes issued by Panhandle-Plains Higher Education Authority, Inc., series 2010-1 and series 2010-2, at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trusts' collateral are 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 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. sovereign at '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, total parity ratios are 115.55% (13.46% CE) for PPHEA 2010-1 and 116.00% (13.79% CE) for PPHEA 2010-2. Due to the trusts' turbo structures, no cash will be released until all notes have been paid in full.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by reserve accounts sized at their floors of $315,000 and $330,000 for the PPHEA 2010-1 and PPHEA 2010-2 trusts, respectively.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Day to day servicing is provided by ACS Education Services, Inc. (AES). In Fitch's opinion, AES 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 ratings:

Panhandle-Plains Higher Education Authority, Inc., Series 2010-1:
--Class A-2 notes at 'AAAsf; Outlook Stable;
--Class A-3 notes at 'AAAsf; Outlook Stable;
--Class A-4 notes at 'AAAsf; Outlook Stable.

Panhandle-Plains Higher Education Authority, Inc., Series 2010-2:
--Class A-1 notes at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.