Fitch Affirms Nelnet Student Loan Trust 2002-1 Notes; Assigns Stable Outlook

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings affirms the student loan notes of the Nelnet Student Loan Trust (Nelnet) 2002-1, issued under the 2002 Trust Indenture, dated May 1, 2002. The subordinated class B notes have been removed from Rating Watch Negative and assigned a Stable Outlook. The Rating Outlook remains Stable for the senior class A notes. The trust has sufficient credit enhancement for the notes with senior parity at 126.6% and total parity at 101.9% as of April 30, 2010. 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 Outlook is Stable because, with the buildup of parity for the notes, the ratings are expected to remain stable for the next two years.

The interest rates on the Nelnet 2002-1 notes are capped at the net loan rate (which is based on the collateral earnings less fees and expenses of the trust). JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, the interest rate cap providers, will equally share in covering any excess of the floating bond rate over the net loan rate on each distribution date up to a capped amount which is deemed sufficient to mitigate basis risk in this transaction.

The collateral supporting the Nelnet 2002-1 notes consists 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 Nelnet, Inc. and Sallie Mae Servicing LLC.

Fitch affirms the ratings with a Stable Outlook for the following classes of Nelnet 2002-1 notes, issued under the 2002 Trust Indenture:

--Class 2002-1 A-2 at 'AAA/LS1'; Outlook Stable;

--Class 2002-1 B at 'AAA/LS3'; Outlook Stable.

The following applicable criteria report is available on Fitch's web site at www.fitchratings.com:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' (Sept. 30, 2009).

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

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