Fitch Rts World Omni 2001-A Auto Lease Securitization Trust
NEW YORK--Aug. 13, 2001--Fitch has rated the asset-backed notes issued by World Omni 2001-A Automobile Lease Securitization Trust as listed below:| -- | $136,549,000 class A-1 3.91% asset-backed notes 'F1+'; |
| -- | $219,000,000 class A-2 floating-rate asset-backed notes 'AAA'; |
| -- | $278,000,000 class A-3 floating-rate asset-backed notes 'AAA'; |
| -- | $270,000,000 class A-4 floating-rate asset-backed notes 'AAA'; |
| -- | $51,282,000 class B floating-rate asset-backed notes 'A+'. |
The issuance is World Omni's 10th automobile lease transaction since 1994. Five classes of notes were issued from the trust under Rule 144A. All notes and the retained transferor's interest are backed by a 100% undivided interest in the special unit of beneficial interest (SUBI), representing a beneficial interest in a pool of retail closed-end automobile and light-truck lease contracts originated by approved dealers throughout the U.S. Fitch's ratings address the likelihood of full and timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal by the legal final maturity date of each class. Interest and principal are paid sequentially on the 20th of each month, beginning July 20, 2001.
The ratings are based on initial credit enhancement equal to 8.25% of the collateral balance for the class A notes (5.25% subordination of the class B notes, 2.25% overcollateralization (OC), and 0.75% reserve account) and 3% for the class B notes (2.25% OC and 0.75% reserve account), residual value insurance, amortizing interest rate caps for the class A-2, A-3, A-4 and B floating-rate notes, the quality of the trust assets, the transaction's sound legal and cash flow structures, and World Omni Financial Corp.'s (WOFCO) strong underwriting and servicing capabilities. The residual value insurance is provided by Chubb Indemnity Insurance Co., and is available to cover residual value losses up to 100% of the initial aggregate residual value of the securitized pool. The caps are provided by Credit Lyonnais S.A. (rated 'A/F1' by Fitch) through its New York Branch.
The initial contracts in the SUBI consist of 44,678 fixed-rate, closed-end lease contracts, with a weighted average lease rate of 10.079%. The initial aggregate pool balance of the lease contracts is approximately $976.8 million, with an aggregate residual value of $545.5 million. The residual value portion is 56% of the 2001-A transaction, down significantly from 71% in the 1999-A transaction due to the inclusion of longer term leases. The decreased residual portion should result in lower turn-ins and residual value losses. As of the cutoff date, the weighted average seasoning of the pool is approximately 10.4 months, up slightly from 6.97 months in 1999-A, resulting in a larger proportion of realized credit losses prior to securitization.
WOFCO is a Florida corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises Inc. (JMFE). JMFE also owns Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc., which is the exclusive distributor of Toyota automobiles and light-duty trucks in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. WOFCO has been providing consumer lease and installment contract financing to retail customers and floor plan and dealer financing to dealers throughout the U.S. since 1982. In addition, WOFCO recently entered the third-party servicing business. As of March 31, 2001, WOFCO serviced a portfolio, exclusive of its third-party servicing portfolio, of 213,000 lease contracts totaling approximately $4.2 billion.