Fitch Affirms Abel Funding Pty Ltd's ABCP at 'F1sf'

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

SYDNEY, March 05 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Short-Term rating of 
Abel Funding Pty Ltd's asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) at 'F1sf'. Abel 
Funding is a partially supported multi-seller ABCP conduit sponsored by The 
Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS, A/Stable/F1).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The conduit has a maximum tenor of 185 days to fund the purchase of eligible 
assets up to an aggregate programme limit of AUD10bn and, as at end-January 
2014, had AUD258m of ABCP outstanding. The affirmation is based on the credit 
and liquidity support provided by RBS, the credit quality of the assets funded 
through the conduit, RBS' managerial capabilities, and the programme's legal 
structure.

A pool of three multi-seller asset portfolios is currently funded through the 
issuance of Abel Funding's ABCP, all of which are partially supported by 
liquidity, thereby creating an exposure to the performance of the underlying 
assets for the ABCP note holders. Fitch has therefore taken the amount of 
enhancement and structural protection provided for these specific assets into 
consideration and determined that the level of support for the 
partially-supported assets and the rating of RBS is commensurate with the rating 
on the ABCP. 

The rating action reflects Fitch's view that fungible programme-wide credit 
enhancement (PWCE) by way of a letter of credit sized at a minimum of 8% of the 
outstanding ABCP, and liquidity support of up to 102% of the face value of ABCP 
outstanding, support the ABCP at the current rating. Both the liquidity support 
and letter of credit are currently provided by RBS.

RATING SENSIITIVITIES

If RBS' Short-Term rating were downgraded, the CP notes issued by Abel Funding 
may also be downgraded.

Fitch's initial rating drivers are discussed in the new issue report entitled 
"Abel Funding Pty Limited and Tasman Funding Inc.", available on 
www.fitchratings.com. Included as an appendix to the report are a description of 
the representations, warranties, and enforcement mechanisms.

Contacts: 

Lead Surveillance Analyst 

Ben Newey

Director

+61 2 8256 0341

Fitch Australia Pty Ltd, Level 15, 77 King St, Sydney NSW 2000 

Committee Chairperson 

Natasha Vojvodic

Senior Director 

+61 2 8256 0350

The source of information used to assess the rating was RBS. The issuer has 
informed Fitch that not all relevant underlying information used in the analysis 
of the rated notes is public. 

Applicable criteria, "Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria", dated 24 May 
2013; "APAC Residential Mortgage Criteria", dated 1 August 2013; "APAC 
Residential Mortgage Criteria Addendum - Australia", dated 1 August 2013; 
"Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds", dated 13 May 
2013; "Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds: 
Derivative Addendum", dated 13 May 2013; "Global Criteria for Lender's Mortgage 
Insurance in RMBS", dated 1 August 2013; and "Global Rating for Asset-Backed 
Commercial Paper" dated 7 November 2013 are available at www.fitchratings.com.

Media Relations: Iselle Gonzalez, Sydney, Tel: +61 2 8256 0326, Email: 
iselle.gonzalez@fitchratings.com.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research: 

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=708661

APAC Residential Mortgage Criteria - Amended

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=709855

APAC Residential Mortgage Criteria Addendum – Australia - Amended

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=710259

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=707155

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds: Derivative 
Addendum

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=707156

Global Criteria for Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance in RMBS

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=709255

Global Rating Criteria for Asset-Backed Commercial Paper

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=721566

Additional Disclosure 

Solicitation Status 

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=822711

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 THE AGENCY'S 
FREE WEB SITE AT 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.

Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services licence (AFS 
licence no. 337123) which authorises it to provide credit ratings to wholesale 
clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to 
be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations 
Act 2001.