Fitch Affirms Blue Titanium at 'F1+(zaf)'
Fitch Ratings-Johannesburg/London-17 December 2009: Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Blue Titanium Conduit Limited's (Blue Titanium) asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) notes' Short-term rating at 'F1+(zaf)', following a satisfactory review of the programme.
The review consisted of on-site discussions with the management of The Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA, rated 'AA(zaf)'/'F1+(zaf)'/Stable), as sponsor and administrator. The review covered commercial paper issuance, IT administration systems, administrative procedures, credit policies and portfolio composition. The team charged with the administration of the programme has been stable and is experienced in administering conduits.
Blue Titanium may issue 'F1+(zaf)' CP with a maximum tenor of 364 days, the proceeds of which are used to purchase financial assets and rated securities. A total 10% credit enhancement is provided for financial assets and a dynamic amount as calculated by Fitch's simulation model for rated securities. If rated securities are downgraded below 'AA-(zaf)' the issuer will post programme-wide credit enhancement (PWCE) within one day of a downgrade, and the downgraded assets will then either be promptly transferred out of the programme, or if they cannot be disposed of within one business day, PWCE will continue to be posted in accordance with the results from Fitch's simulation model.
The face value of the outstanding CP at end-November 2009 was approximately ZAR5.924bn
A copy of the rating report is available on the agency's website, www.fitchratings.com.
Fitch employed its global rating criteria for ABCP to analyse the structure and underlying asset performance of the programme.
Applicable criteria 'Global Rating Criteria for Asset Backed Commercial Paper,' dated 22 October, 2009 and 'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria', dated 30 September 2009' are available at www.fitchratings.com.
Contacts: Emma-Jane Fulcher, London, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7417 3529; Alfons Ideler, Johannesburg, Tel: +27 11 380 0901.
Media Relations: Julian Dennison, London, Tel: +44 020 7682 7480, Email: julian.dennison@fitchratings.com.
Note to Editors: Fitch's National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA(zaf)' for National ratings in South Africa. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.
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