NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 31, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its 'AAA' long-term ratings on North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority's $506.3 million student loan revenue bonds series 2005-A and removed them from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed Jan. 23, 2008 (see list). The Jan. 23 CreditWatch placement was a direct result of the placement of our rating on Ambac Assurance Corp. on CreditWatch with negative implications. However, the current long-term 'AAA' ratings no longer reflect the insurance policy issued by Ambac, which remains in place. The ratings reflect the strong performance of the underlying collateral, cash flow stress scenarios based on 'AAA' stresses, and a cash infusion by the State Education Assistance
