OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings affirms the Panhandle-Plains Higher Education Authority, series 2011-2 notes as follows:

--Class A-1 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--Class A-2 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable;

--Class A-3 at 'AAAsf'; Outlook Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Collateral Quality: The trusts' collateral are comprised of 100% of Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. The credit quality of the trust collateral is high, in Fitch's opinion, based on the guarantees provided by the transaction's eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U. S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest. Fitch currently rates the U. S. sovereign 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Credit Enhancement (CE): CE is provided by excess spread and overcollateralization. As of the March 2016 collection period, reported total parity is 110.83% (9.77% CE). The trust is in turbo, and no funds can be released from the trust until all notes have been paid in full.

Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account sized at the greater of 0.25% of the aggregate principal amount of the notes outstanding and $904,695. As of March 2016, the reserve account is sized at $905,355.

Servicing Capabilities: ACS Education Services, Inc. (ACS) is the Sub-servicer of this transaction and will be responsible for the day-to-day servicing of this trust. Fitch believes ACS to be an acceptable servicer of FFELP student loans.

CRITERIA VARIATION WITH REGARD TO ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS:

Under the 'Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds', dated July 18, 2016, Fitch looks to its own ratings in analyzing counterparty risk and assessing a counterparty's creditworthiness. The definition of the permitted investment for this deal allows possibility of using investments not rated by Fitch, this represents a criteria variation. Fitch doesn't believe that such variation has a measurable impact upon the ratings assigned.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since the FFELP student loan ABS relies 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, basis risk, and loan extension risk account for the majority of the risk embedded in FFELP student loan transactions. Additional defaults, basis shock beyond Fitch's published stresses, lower than expected payment speed, and other factors could result in future downgrades. Likewise, a buildup of CE driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.