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Fitch Rates Nelnet Student Loan Trust 2014-6
[July 31, 2014]

Fitch Rates Nelnet Student Loan Trust 2014-6


NEW YORK --(Business Wire)--

Fitch Ratings assigns ratings to Nelnet Student Loan Trust (NSLT) 2014-6 student loan asset-backed notes as follows:

--$565,000,000 class A notes 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--$8,300,000 class B notes 'A+sf'; Outlook Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral consists of 100% Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans including approximately 65% rehabilitated (rehab) loans. In Fitch's opinion, the credit quality of the trust collateral is high, based on the guarantees provided by the transaction's eligible guarantors and at least 97% reinsurance of principal and accrued interest provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The U.S. is currently rated 'AAA', Outlook Stable.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement: Cash flow scenarios for class A and B notes were satisfactory under Fitch's respective stresses. Total credit enhancement (CE) is provided by overcollateralization (OC) and excess spread, and for the class A notes, 1.45% subordination is provided by the class B notes. At closing, total and senior parity are expected to be 101.79% and 103.29%, respectively. A target OC amount equal to the greater of 2.27% of the adjusted pool balance and $2 million must be met before excess spread can be released from the trust.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by an approximate $12.9 million reserve account (2.25% of outstanding note balance), funded at closing with note proceeds. On or after the January 2016 distribution date, the specified reserve requirement will be the greater of 0.25% of the outstanding note balance and 0.10% of the initial note balance.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Nelnet, Inc. will service approximately 36.28% of the NSLT 2014-6 portfolio. Xerox Education Services LLC (Xerox-ES), Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc. (GLELSI) and Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will service 47.22%, 9.07% and 7.44%, respectively, of the remaining portfolio. In Fitch's opinion, all servicers are acceptable servicers of FFELP student loans.

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 in futuredowngrades. Likewise, a buildup of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades. For further discussion of Fitch's sensitivity analysis, please see the presale titled 'NSLT 2014-6', dated July 28, 2014, available at www.fitchratings.com.



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

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:


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

--'Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria' (June 23, 2014);

--'Representations, Warranties and Enforcement Mechanism in Global Structure Finance Transactions' (April 17, 2012).

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=750530

Representations, Warranties, and Enforcement Mechanisms in Global Structured Finance Transactions

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=676496

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=843304

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.


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