Fitch Affirms Grainflow Investments Limited at 'F1+(zaf)'
Fitch Ratings-London/Johannesburg-16 November 2009: Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Grainflow Investments Limited's (Grainflow) asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) National Short-term rating at 'F1+(zaf)'.
The rating actions followed a satisfactory review of the transaction's performance to date, as well as an onsite review of the servicing activities of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as programme sponsor and administrator.
Grainflow is a South African domestic commodity-backed note programme structured to issue tranches of rand-denominated CP with a maximum tenor of 364 days. The transaction is secured by commodities traded on the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX), the contracts of which are securitised and repackaged as CP. The commodities are limited to white maize, yellow maize, wheat, sunflower or soybeans of South African origin.
All purchases made by Grainflow must be fully guaranteed by FirstRand Bank Holdings Limited ('F1+(zaf)'), through its subsidiary Rand Merchant Bank in order to be eligible. In the event of SAFEX refusing delivery of the commodity, the credit guarantor will undertake to discharge the conduit's liability to SAFEX.
No liquidity or credit enhancement is provided for the transaction. All futures contracts mature at least two days prior to the maturity of the CP notes.
A copy of the rating report is available on the agency's website, www.fitchratings.com.
Applicable criteria available at www.fitchratings.com: 'Global Rating Criteria for Asset Backed Commercial Paper,' dated 22 October, 2009.
Contacts: Emma-Jane Fulcher, London, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7417 3529; Alfons Ideler, Johannesburg, +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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