OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has affirmed the senior notes at 'AAAsf' issued by EdSouth Indenture No. 2, LLC series 2012-1. The Rating Outlook remains Stable for all notes.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral comprises Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans (including 21% of rehabilitated 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 currently rates the U.S. 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: CE is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of the November 2015 collection period, parity is at 118.89%. Additionally, the trust is in turbo, and no cash will be released until all notes have been paid in full.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a Debt Service Reserve Fund currently sized at $616,763 (25bps of the bond balance, with a floor of 15bps)

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Day-to-day servicing will be provided by PHEAA and Great Lakes. Both servicers have demonstrated adequate servicing capabilities.

On Nov. 18, 2015, Fitch released its exposure draft which delineates revisions it plans to make to the 'Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria', dated June 23, 2014. Fitch has reviewed this transaction under both the existing and proposed criteria.

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, basis risk, and loan extension risk account for the majority of the risk embedded in FFELP student loan transactions. Additional defaults, basis shock beyond Fitch's published stresses, lower than expected payment speed, and other factors could result in future downgrades. Likewise, a build-up 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.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

EdSouth Indenture No. 2, LLC Series 2012-1:
--Series 2012-1 note at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.