PRESS RELEASE: S&P Raises 10 Rtgs In Arran Corporate Loans No. 1 European CDO

The following is a press release from Standard & Poor's: OVERVIEW -- These rating actions reflect the recent amortization of a number of assets in the portfolio. -- We have raised our ratings on 10 classes and affirmed our ratings on all other classes. -- Arran Corporate Loans No. 1 is a European synthetic CDO transaction. LONDON (Standard & Poor's) July 6, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today took various rating actions on Arran Corporate Loans No. 1 B.V.'s European synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) notes. Specifically, we raised our ratings on classes B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2, and E3. At the same time, we affirmed our ratings on classes A1, A2, A3, F1, F2, and F3 (see list below). Arran's reference portfolio of U.K. corporate loans has reduced following the amortization of several assets. The portfolio reported to us at the end of May 2010 was GBP883 million, compared with GBP1,390 million in June 2009 and GBP3,500 million at closing. At the same time, there has been a reduction in the outstanding amount of the class A1, A2, and A3 notes. In our opinion, the transaction now has fewer assets at risk in the reference portfolio, while the credit enhancement for classes B to E is unchanged (in monetary terms). Therefore, we believe that the credit support for these tranches is commensurate with higher ratings. As a result, we today upgraded the notes. The ratings on classes C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2, and E3 could be upgraded further based on scenario loss rates (SLRs) and the credit enhancement; however, they are constrained by the "largest obligor" supplemental stress test as set out in the our corporate CDO criteria (see "Related Criteria And Research"). Arran is a fully funded synthetic balance sheet collateralized loan obligation (CLO), originally referencing a GBP3.5 billion portfolio of British pound sterling bank loans and undrawn facilities granted to U.K. borrowers by The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC or National Westminster Bank PLC. RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH -- Update To Global Methodologies And Assumptions For Corporate Cash Flow And Synthetic CDOs, Sept. 17, 2009 -- Ratings Lowered On Nine Classes In Arran Corporate Loans No.1's European CDO; Seven Classes Affirmed, Feb. 9, 2010 Related articles are available on RatingsDirect and on Standard & Poor's CDO Interface at www.cdointerface.com. Criteria, presales, servicer evaluations, and ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers: Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office (44) 20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm (46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow (7) 495-783-4011. RATINGS LIST Class Rating To From Ratings Raised Arran Corporate Loans No. 1 B.V. EUR1.271 Billion, GBP993.641 Million, $2.966 Billion Secured Floating-Rate Notes B1 AA+ A+ B2 AA+ A+ B3 AA+ A+ C1 A+ A C2 A+ A D1 BBB+ BBB D2 BBB+ BBB E1 B+ CCC+ E2 B+ CCC+ E3 B+ CCC+ Ratings Affirmed A1 AAA A2 AAA A3 AAA F1 CCC+ F2 CCC+ F3 CCC+ Surveillance Credit Analysts: Nicola Dobson, London (44) 20-7176-3879; nicola_dobson@standardandpoors.com Eva Gomez, London (44) 20-7176-3885; eva_gomez@standardandpoors.com Amit Sohal, London (44) 20-7176-3845; amit_sohal@standardandpoors.com Additional Contact: Structured Finance Europe; StructuredFinanceEurope@standardandpoors.com No content (including ratings, credit-related analyses and data, model, software or other application or output therefrom) or any part thereof (Content) may be modified, reverse engineered, reproduced or distributed in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of S&P. The Content shall not be used for any unlawful or unauthorized purposes. 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(END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 10:50 ET (14:50 GMT)