Fitch Affirms Washington Student Loan Finance Association 1998 Indenture Senior Notes

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings affirms the ratings and assigns a Stable Outlook to the senior student loan notes of the Washington Student Loan Finance Association (WSLFA) 1998 Indenture notes. The trust has been producing excess spread, and the parity for the senior notes is at 118.11% as of June 30, 2009 and increasing. A complete list of rating actions follows at the end of this release.

Fitch's Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria were used to review the ratings, and the affirmation is based on the performance of the trust in line with the expectation. The existence of auction-rate securities has not had a significant impact on the trust performance. Fitch assigned a Stable Outlook because, with the significant buildup of parity for the senior notes, the ratings are expected to remain stable for the next two years. The subordinate student loan notes will be reviewed separately upon the completion of the updated basis risk analysis.

The collateral supporting the WSLFA 1998 indenture notes consist entirely of federally guaranteed student loans originated under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). FFELP loans are guaranteed at least 97% of principal and accrued interest, depending on the loan origination date. The loans are serviced by Sallie Mae Servicing which carries a Fitch Seller/Servicer Rating of Proficient Plus.

Fitch affirms the ratings and assigns a Stable Outlook to the following senior classes of the WSLFA 1998 indenture notes:

--1998 A-3 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2000 A-1 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2001 A-2 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2002 A-3 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2002 A-4 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2003 A-1 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2004 A-1 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--2004 A-2 notes at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable.

The following applicable criteria report is available on Fitch's web site at 'www.fitchratings.com': 'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' dated Sept. 30, 2009.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

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