Merrill Lynch Puttable FLOATs/RITES Trust puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts series PT-885, relating to District Of Columbia (Washington D.C.) general obligation bonds series 2003A, are rated 'AAA/A-1'. The long-term component of the rating is based on the MBIA-insured underlying bond. The short-term component of the rating is based on a liquidity guarantee from Merrill Lynch&Co., Inc., and the expiration date of the liquidity facility is Nov. 15, 2004. Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard&Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard&Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Credit Ratings Actions.
