LONDON (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 26, 2007--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'AAA' insured and 'BBB+' underlying debt ratings on the ú166 million senior secured bonds, due 2036, issued by U.K.-based special-purpose vehicle Exchequer Partnership (No. 2) PLC (EP2). The outlook on the underlying rating is stable. At the same time, Standard & Poor's raised its recovery rating on the bonds to '1' from '2', reflecting the robust performance of the EP2 project under various challenging recovery scenarios. The 'AAA' insured rating reflects the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of payment of scheduled interest and principal on the bonds provided by Financial Security Assurance (U.K.) Ltd. (AAA/Stable/--). The underlying debt rating reflects a composite of credit factors.
