S&P Asgns Prlm Rtgs to Mitsui Leasing ABS Trust Certs
TOKYO, Japan--Standard & Poor's--May 29, 2001-- Standard & Poor's today assigned its preliminary triple-'A' ratings to MLD Trust Series 7 JPY20.7 billion certificates. The transaction is backed by a pool of lease receivables originated by Mitsui Leasing & Development Ltd.The preliminary ratings are based on information as of May 25, 2001. Subsequent information may result in the assignment of final ratings that differ from the preliminary ratings. Standard & Poor's ratings address the full and timely payment of interest and the ultimate full repayment of principal by the legal maturity date of June 2007. Final ratings will be assigned after a complete review of the final structure, including tranching, and legal and tax opinions.
The aggregate JPY20.7 billion trust certificates are expected to be backed by a pool of about JPY24.57 billion of equipment lease contracts originated by Mitsui Leasing and entrusted to Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corp.
The preliminary ratings reflect:
| -- | Ample credit support, with initially about 12.56% overcollateralization based on a discount rate of 1.8% on the lease receivables; |
| -- | A high proportion of medium- to large-sized companies in the obligor pool, increasing the likelihood that lease payments will be made in a timely manner; |
| -- | A well diversified obligor pool, consisting of companies from a wide range of industry sub sectors; |
| -- | A structure that limits the maximum lease balance for each obligor to less then 1% of the total pool balance, thereby mitigating obligor concentration; |
| -- | A cash reserve account to be funded at closing; |
| -- | Rigorous early amortization events that will convert principal redemption to a pass-through structure under certain adverse circumstances; and |
| -- | Ample performance data. |
Mitsui Leasing, a member of the Mitsui group, is a major leasing company with assets of JPY743.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2000. The company has been securitizing equipment lease receivables since December 1998, and thus has ample experience in this area. This transaction is the first Mitsui Leasing-originated securitization to be rated by Standard & Poor's.
A presale report for this transaction will soon be available on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. In addition, the report will be available on Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Web site at www.standardandpoors.com/ratings. Under Presale Reports, select Structured Finance, then Asset-Backed Securities. A copy of the Japanese-language version of Standard & Poor's presale report for this transaction will soon be available on Standard & Poor's Japanese Web site, at www.standardandpoors.com/japan. --CreditWire