NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 29, 2004--Standard&Poor's Rating Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to Illinois Finance Authority's $50 million single-family mortgage revenue bonds series 2004. The rating reflects extremely strong underlying collateral in the form of 'AAA' eligible Ginnie Mae or Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which cover the principal portion of the bonds; a swap agreement with SunTrust Bank (AA-/Stable/A-1+) covering the interest portion of the bonds mitigating exposure of the variable rate on the bonds; and SunTrust ('AA-') is the lowest rated coverage provider. Bond proceeds will be used to originate new single-family mortgages. The bonds are being issued on a forward delivery basis in multiple subseries over the course of the origination period, which
