[June 23, 2014]

Fitch Affirms North Texas Higher Education Loan Authority, Inc. Series 2012-1 Bond

Fitch Ratings affirms the North Texas Higher Education Authority Inc. (NTHEA) series 2012-1 bond at 'AAAsf'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral consists of 100% (91.84% Non-Rehab; 8.16% Rehab) 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. 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Credit Enhancement (CE) is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of April 2014, total parity is 106.56% (6.16% CE). The trust is a full turbo structure therefore no cash is released until the note is paid in full.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account. The reserve is sized equal to the greater of 0.25% of the pool balance, and $ 694,800.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Higher Education Servicing Corporation (HESC) is the master servicer and also provides day-to-day servicing for 36% of the loans. Edfinancial Services, LLC (Edfinancial) services 58% of the loans, and Nelnet Servicing, LLC (Nelnet) services the remaining 7%. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is the backup servicer for the loans serviced by HESC and Edfinancial. All servicers have demonstrated adequate servicing capabilities.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since FFELP student loan ABS (News - Alert) 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 i future downgrades. Likewise, a buildup of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.

Fitch has affirmed the following rating:

North Texas Higher Education Authority, Inc. Series 2012-1:

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

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

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' dated May 20, 2014;

--'Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria' dated May 17, 2013.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=748821

Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=708795

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=836000

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