OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2015.  Fitch Ratings affirms the 'AAAsf' rating assigned to the senior student loan asset-backed notes issued by the NorthStar Student Loan Trust I, series 2012-1. The Rating Outlook on the senior notes is Stable. A detailed list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
Adequate Collateral Quality: The trust collateral is 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 at least 97% reinsurance of principal and accrued interest provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The current rating for the U.S is 'AAA', Outlook Stable

Sufficient Credit Enhancement (CE): CE is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust' asset balance over bond balance), excess spread, and for the class A notes, subordination provided by the class B notes. As of the August 2015 distribution report, total and senior parity is 108.17% and 108.80% respectively.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by \\$1.11 million reserve account.

Satisfactory Servicing Capabilities: Day-to-day servicing is provided by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. Fitch believes the servicing operations are acceptable at this time.

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 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 rating:

NorthStar Student Loan Trust I, Student Loan Asset-Backed Notes, Series 2012-1:

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