Mapletree Industrial Trust’s Notes Receive Fitch Ratings of BBB+

Posted on May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update profiling Mapletree Industrial Trust’s notes receiving a Fitch Ratings of BBB+, courtesy of Reuters. Mapletree Industrial Trust is a Singapore-focused Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listed on the Main Board of Singapore Exchange, with a large and diversified portfolio of industrial properties. As of March 2015, their portfolio of 84 properties in Singapore is valued at approximately S$3.4 billion. An excerpt from the Reuters update is below.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Singapore-based Mapletree Industrial Trust’s (MIT; BBB+/Stable) SGD75m 3.02% senior unsecured medium-term notes issue due on 11 May 2023 a final rating of ‘BBB+’. The final rating follows the receipt of documents conforming to information already received, and is in line with the expected rating assigned on 6 May 2015. The notes are part of MIT’s SGD1bn multi-currency medium-term note programme, and will constitute direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the issuer Mapletree Industrial Trust Treasury Company Pte Ltd and the guarantor, DBS Trustee Limited. DBS Trustee Limited acts as trustee for MIT. The trust has to-date issued SGD245m of senior unsecured notes off its MTN programme. The issue proceeds will be used to refinance part of MIT’s existing debt. This will lengthen its debt maturity profile and significantly reduce its refinancing needs. MIT has sufficient committed but unutilised credit facilities, as well as available cash to meet its near-term commitments. KEY RATING DRIVERS Good Assets, Granular Portfolio: MIT’s portfolio consists of 84 properties across five industrial property types, with over 14.8 million square feet of net leasable area. It has low industry and tenant concentration, with no single industry accounting for more than 16% of revenue, and the 10 largest tenants contributing to less than 18% of revenue. MIT continues to record positive rental roll-over rates – its portfolio-wide rent per square foot increased to SGD1.84 in the fourth quarter of its financial year ending on 31 March 2015, up 5% from 4QFY14. The quarterly occupancy rate has remained over 90% on average since its IPO in October 2010. Geographic Concentration and Limited Scale: MIT’s rating is constrained because its assets are concentrated within Singapore, and it has limited operating scale compared to higher-rated global property investment companies. Strong Financing Flexibility: MIT has low interest-rate risk and strong financing flexibility – it has FFO fixed charge cover of over 8x. More than 75% of its debt carries fixed interest rates; and its FFO net leverage has remained below 6x and its debt to investment property assets ratio is less than 35%. It has zero encumbrances on its assets, which provides an unencumbered asset cover of more than 2.5x to its unsecured debt. Strong Sponsor: MIT benefits from competitively priced debt funding and strategically located investment properties, by virtue of being sponsored by Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch’s key assumptions within our rating case for the issuer include: – Annual revenue growth in the low single digits – EBITDA margin to remain above 62% – Capex/revenue to average around 10% (FY15: 17%) RATING SENSITIVITIES Positive: No positive rating action is expected in the medium term given MIT’s geographic concentration in Singapore and limited scale in relation to global property investment companies. Negative: Future developments that may, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action include – Heightened interest rate risk as evidenced by FFO fixed-charge coverage sustained below 5x (FY15: 8.8x) – FFO adjusted net leverage sustained above 6x (FY15: 5.1x) and the ratio of gross debt net of readily available cash to investment property value (LTV) sustained above 40%-45% (FY15: 31%) – Unencumbered assets / unsecured debt below 2x (FY15: 3.0x) – A sustained and material weakening in the competitive position of MIT’s assets, as evidenced in weaker rental renewal rates and occupancy levels, resulting in EBITDA margin sustained below 60% (FY15: 64%)

BOC Aviation GMTN Receives Fitch Ratings of A-

Posted on May 7, 2015May 7, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update profiles Fitch Ratings giving BOC Aviation’s global medium term a final rating of A-. This update is courtesy of Reuters with an excerpt below.

Fitch Ratings has assigned BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s (BOC Aviation) SGD145m 3.93% senior unsecured notes due 2025 a final rating of ‘A-‘. The notes are issued under the aircraft leasing company’s USD5bn global medium-term note (GMTN) programme. Proceeds from the senior notes would be used for the company’s general corporate purposes. KEY RATING DRIVERS The notes are rated at the same level as BOC Aviation’s ‘A-‘ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR). This is because the notes constitute direct, unsubordinated and senior unsecured obligations of the company, and rank equally with all its other unsecured and unsubordinated obligations. The IDR, presently on a Stable Outlook, reflects Fitch’s view of a very high probability of extraordinary support to BOC Aviation from its ultimate parent, Bank of China Limited (BOC; A/Stable). RATING SENSITIVITIES Any perceived changes in BOC’s propensity and ability to provide support would impact BOC Aviation’s IDR and hence the issue rating. For more details on BOC Aviation’s ratings and credit profile, see “Fitch Affirms Aircraft Lessors Following Peer Review”, dated 11 August 2014, and BOC Aviation’s rating report, dated 23 October 2014, available at www.fitchratings.com.

Fitch Ratings Gives French Holding Company AA and Stable Outlook

Posted on April 29, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Fitch-agency-cuts-Italy-and-Spain-ratings

Medium Term Notes blog update is courtesy of Reuters. Fitch Ratings has rated EPIC BPI-Groupe a AA rating and given them a stable outlook. The EPIC BPI-Groupe is the holding company for the French State’s participation in OSEO Group’s operating company OSEO S.A. and is fully-owned by the state. An excerpt from Reuters is below.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed EPIC BPI-Groupe (EPIC) Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘AA’ with a Stable Outlook, and its Short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘F1+’. Fitch has also affirmed Bpifrance Financement’s EUR4bn certificate of deposit programme, EUR20bn euro medium term notes programme and EUR4bn negotiable medium-term notes at Long-term ‘AA’ and Short-term ‘F1+’. The bonds issued under these programmes benefit from an unconditional and irrevocable first-call guarantee from EPIC BPI-Groupe. Fitch rates the holding company EPIC, but not BPI-Groupe SA or its subsidiaries (including Bpifrance Financement) represented by Bpifrance Group. Fitch rates EPIC on a top-down basis under its public-sector entity rating criteria, due to EPIC’s status as a public agency, its tight control by the French State (AA/Stable/F1+) and to a lesser extent, its strategic importance for the government. As a result, the ratings of EPIC are equalised with those of, and credit-linked to, France. KEY RATING DRIVERS EPIC would benefit from very strong state support in case of need. Although the French government has no legal obligation to prevent a default, Fitch assumes that it is highly motivated to provide support on a long- or short-term basis and that it has the legal and financial means to enable EPIC to meet its debt service obligations on time. By virtue of its status, EPIC’s assets and liabilities cannot be liquidated or transferred to entities other than the French State. EPIC is 100% owned by the French government and its missions are carried out through BPI-Groupe SA and its subsidiaries that make up Bpifrance Group. Bpifrance Group is subject to a strong administrative, legal and financial oversight by the French State which defines its missions. As part of public policy, Bpifrance Group’s commitments are monitored by parliament through annual performance reports. Bpifrance Group is a strategic tool for French economic policy through co-lending (with commercial banks) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps. Its public missions have been reinforced with export financing and by a framework-agreement with Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD; AA/Stable/F1+) to foster the international development of French SMEs. Underpinned by the absence of high fixed costs as it has no significant branch network, Bpifrance Group continues to post a sound cost/income ratio on its different activities. Under its 2014-2017 strategic plan, Bpifrance Group expects to continue to post sound budgetary performance, with a low cost of risk and a positive operating income of EUR502m at end-2017 (2014: EUR389m). Bpifrance Group benefits from diversified sources of funding, through EPIC’s debt financing division subsidiary (Bpifrance Financement), allowing it to limit its refinancing risk. Since 2015, its funding is also underpinned by the eligibility of Bpifrance Financement’s securities for the public sector purchase programme of the European Central Bank. Bpifrance Financement has a solid and safe liquidity profile, with a confirmed amount of liquidity reserves of EUR9.6bn at end-2014, representing one year of business activity. This translates into a solid liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) under Basel III regulations (600% at end-2014). The breakdown of exposures by product and by sector is diversified in terms of both exposure and number of counterparties. Bpifrance Group has a strict policy on large exposures, thereby limiting high individual exposure and favouring portfolio diversification. RATING SENSITIVITIES EPIC’s ratings are credit linked to the sovereign. A positive or negative rating action on the sovereign would result in a similar rating action on the issuer. Changes to EPIC’s legal status that weaken potential support from the state could also lead to a downgrade. A movement in the ratings of EPIC would affect the ratings of guaranteed bonds issued by Bpifrance Financement.

Turkey’s First Privately Owned Bank’s MTN Receive Fitch Ratings

Posted on April 6, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update is courtesy of Reuters. The first privately owned investment and development bank in Turkey, Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi A.S.’s (TSKB) MTNs received Fitch Ratings of a BBB-. Below is an excerpt from Reuters.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi A.S.’s (TSKB) USD750m medium term note programme Long- and Short-term ratings of ‘BBB-‘ and ‘F3′ respectively. The ratings apply only to issuance of senior unsecured notes. The ratings are senior programme ratings and do not imply that the ratings will be assigned to all notes issued under the programme. Senior notes under the MTN programme will represent direct, unconditional, unsecured, and unsubordinated obligations of the bank. However, Fitch reserves the right to not rate certain instruments issued under the programme. The programme is to be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Notes issued may be in any currency or of any tenor. KEY RATING DRIVERS The programme’s ratings reflect the ratings that are expected to be assigned to senior notes issued under the programme, and are in line with TSKB’s Long- and Short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of ‘BBB-‘ and ‘F3′ respectively. The bank’s IDRs in turn reflect the policy role of TSKB and are based on a high probability of support, if required, from the Turkish government. TSKB is 50%-owned by Turkiye Is Bankasi A.S. (BBB-/Stable) and performs a public mission, as defined in its statutes, of attracting foreign capital investments to Turkey and participating in the development of the country’s capital markets. RATING SENSITIVITIES As the MTN programme is rated in line with TSKB’s foreign currency IDRs, the rating is primarily sensitive to changes to the IDRs. TSKB’s IDRs are sensitive to a change in Turkey’s sovereign ratings and also to a material reduction in the level of state-guaranteed debt or an erosion of its policy role, either of which Fitch would consider as a reduction in the state’s commitment to TSKB, and therefore potentially an indication of a reduced propensity to provide support, in case of need.

BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s Notes Receives Fitch Rating

Posted on March 24, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update courtesy of Reuters. Fitch Rating service has released released ratings for BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s receives additional Fitch Ratings, following last week’s GMTN Fitch Ratings.

Fitch Ratings has assigned BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s proposed five-year US dollar senior unsecured notes due in 2020, an expected rating of ‘A-(EXP)’. The notes will be issued under the aircraft leasing company’s USD5bn global medium-term note (GMTN) programme. The final rating is subject to the receipt of final documentation conforming to information already received. Proceeds from the senior notes would be used for the company’s capital expenditure and general corporate purposes. KEY RATING DRIVERS The notes are rated at the same level as BOC Aviation’s ‘A-‘ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR). This is because the notes will constitute direct, unsubordinated and senior unsecured obligations of the company, and will rank equally with all its other unsecured and unsubordinated obligations. The IDR, presently on a Stable Outlook, reflects Fitch’s view of a very high probability of extraordinary support to BOC Aviation from its ultimate parent, Bank of China Limited (BOC; A/Stable). RATING SENSITIVITIES Any perceived changes in BOC’s propensity and ability to provide extraordinary support to BOC Aviation would impact BOC Aviation’s IDR and hence the issue rating. For more details on BOC Aviation’s ratings and credit profile, see “Fitch Affirms Aircraft Lessors Following Peer Review”, dated 11 August 2014, and BOC Aviation’s rating report, dated 23 October 2014, available at www.fitchratings.com. Contact: Primary Analyst Brendan Sheehy Director +1 212 908 9138 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Jonathan Lee Senior Director +886 2 8175 7601 Committee Chairperson Nathan Flanders Managing Director +1 212 908 0827 Media Relations: Brian Bertsch, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0549, Email: brian.bertsch@fitchratings.com; Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Leading Global Aircraft Leasing Company GMTN Receives Fitch Rating

Posted on March 16, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update courtesy of Reuters. Fitch Rating service has released released ratings for BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s global medium term notes, see below.

TAIPEI/NEW YORK, March 16 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned BOC Aviation Pte Ltd’s (A-/Stable) USD5bn global medium-term note (GMTN) programme a senior unsecured rating of ‘A-‘. The new rating follows the conversion from the previous euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme. Fitch stresses that there is no assurance that the notes issued under the GMTN programme will be assigned a rating, or that the rating assigned to a specific issue under the programme will have the same rating as the programme rating. KEY RATING DRIVERS The GMTN programme rating is equalised with BOC Aviation’s IDR of ‘A-‘, reflecting that the notes issued under the programme are direct, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the company, and rank equally with all its other unsecured and unsubordinated obligations. The IDR reflects Fitch’s view of a very high probability of extraordinary support to BOC Aviation from its ultimate parent, Bank of China Limited (BOC; A/Stable). RATING SENSITIVITIES The GMTN programme rating is sensitive to any changes in BOC Aviation’s IDR. Any perceived changes in BOC’s propensity and ability to provide support would impact BOC Aviation’s IDR and hence the programme rating. For more details on BOC Aviation’s ratings and credit profile, see “Fitch Affirms Aircraft Lessors Following Peer Review”, dated 11 August 2014, and BOC Aviation’s rating report, dated 23 October 2014, available at www.fitchratings.com. Contact: Primary Analyst Brendan Sheehy Director +1 212 908 9138 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Jonathan Lee Senior Director +886 2 8175 7601 Committee Chairperson Nathan Flanders Managing Director +1 212 908 0827 Media Relations: Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria, “Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteria”, dated 31 January 2014, “Rating FI Subsidiaries and Holding Companies”, dated 10 August 2012, and “Finance and Leasing Companies Criteria”, dated 11 December 2012, are available at www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteria here Rating FI Subsidiaries and Holding Companies here Finance and Leasing Companies Criteria here Additional Disclosure Solicitation Status here.

TMB Bank CNY 600m Three Year Notes Receive BBB- Fitch Rating

Posted on March 12, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update is a copy of a press release from Fitch Ratings and found on Reuters.

Fitch Ratings is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fitch Ratings’ long-term credit ratings are assigned on an alphabetic scale from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’.

Fitch Ratings has assigned TMB Bank Public Company Limited’s (TMB; BBB-/Stable) CNY600m three-year senior unsecured notes due March 2018 a final rating of ‘BBB-‘. The notes are issued under TMB’s USD3.0bn euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme, and are issued by the bank’s Cayman Islands branch. The EMTN programme has been rated ‘BBB-‘. The rating action follows the completion of the bond issue, as well as the receipt of final documents conforming to information previously received. The final rating is the same as the expected rating assigned on 2 March 2015. KEY RATING DRIVERS The notes are rated at the same level as Thailand-based TMB’s EMTN programme and Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘BBB-‘, as they represent unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the bank. TMB’s IDR reflects its stand-alone credit strength. TMB is Thailand’s seventh-largest commercial bank by assets as of December 2014, and its rating is supported by continued improvements in its financial performance. RATING SENSITIVITIES The rating on the senior unsecured notes would be directly impacted by any changes in TMB’s EMTN which, in turn, would be affected by changes in the bank’s IDR. TMB’s ratings could be hurt by a major deterioration in its financial performance, such as in a weaker economic environment, or from an increase in the bank’s risk appetite. Meanwhile, the bank’s ability to maintain or improve its financial performance and a clear strengthening of its domestic franchise would be positive to the ratings.

India Ratings Awarded India Debt Instruments Ratings

Posted on February 27, 2015March 1, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update is courtesy of Reuters.

Below are the ratings awarded by India Ratings and Research Private Ltd (India Ratings), formerly known as Fitch Ratings India for local debt instruments as of February 26, 2015.

Company	Instrument	Rating	Amount(RS .MLN)	Movement
Short Term Ratings:
Aarti Industries Ltd	CP	IND A1+	2000	Assigned
Arihant Ship Breakers	Non-FB WC limits	IND A4	75	Assigned
Champion Rolling Mill Pvt Ltd	Non-FB limits	IND A4+	140	Assigned
Dinesh Textile Mills	NFB WC limits	IND A4	2.5	Assigned
Maheshwari Logistics Pvt Ltd	Non FBL	IND A3	224.8	Suspended
R V Plastic Ltd	Non-FB BG	IND A4	70	Assigned
Shakun Gases Pvt Ltd	Non-FB WC limits	IND A4	190	Assigned
Wellman Carbo Metalicks (I) Ltd	Non FBL	IND A4+	560	Assigned

Long Term Rating:
Aarti Industries Ltd	LT Issuer Rating	IND AA-		Assigned
Arihant Ship Breakers	Long-TL	IND B-	16.2	Assigned
Arihant Ship Breakers	Fund based WC limits	IND B-	75	Assigned
Champion Rolling Mill Pvt Ltd	Long-TL	IND BB+	49.95	Assigned
Champion Rolling Mill Pvt Ltd	FB limits (CC)	IND BB+	200	Assigned
Dinesh Textile Mills	FB WC limit	IND B+	40	Assigned
Dinesh Textile Mills	TL	IND B+	11.69	Assigned
Kbs Industries Pvt Ltd	TL	IND B	9.9	Assigned
Kbs Industries Pvt Ltd	FB WC limit	IND B/ A4	100	Assigned
Kbs Industries Pvt Ltd	Proposed FB WC limit	IND B (exp)/	100	Assigned
		A4 (exp)
Ls Rice Exports Pvt Ltd	TL	IND B	13.1	Assigned
Ls Rice Exports Pvt Ltd	FB WC limit	IND B/ A4	40	Assigned
Maheshwari Logistics Pvt Ltd	LT Issuer Rating	IND BBB		Suspended
Maheshwari Logistics Pvt Ltd	FBL	IND BBB	270	Suspended
Maheshwari Logistics Pvt Ltd	TL	IND BBB	69.4	Suspended
Mars Packaging Industries	TL	IND B/ A4	6.8	Assigned
Mars Packaging Industries	FB WC limit	IND B+/ A4	70	Assigned
R V Plastic Ltd	FB limits	IND B-	100	Assigned
Shakun Gases Pvt Ltd	FB WC limits	IND B-	40	Assigned
Shri Khemisati Plaspack Llp	TL		37.5	Assigned
(Khemisati)		IND B-	20	Assigned
Shri Khemisati Plaspack Llp	FBL
(Khemisati)		IND AA-		Outlook to
Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd	LT Issuer Rating			Positive

Note:- All Indian National-scale ratings previously assigned by Fitch have been transferred to India Ratings & Research Private Ltd (India Ratings), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group. The withdrawn criteria are now available on India Ratings’ website at www.indiaratings.co.in

General Motors Financial International BV Is Expected To Receive BB+ Rating

Posted on February 17, 2015February 28, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update courtesy of the Fort Mill Times.

Fitch Ratings expects to assign a ‘BB+’ rating to General Motors Financial International B.V.’s (GMFI) EUR650 million senior unsecured notes issuance under its EUR10 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program. The notes will pay a coupon of 0.85% and will be due in February 2018.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The EUR650 million notes will be guaranteed by General Motors Financial Company, Inc. (GMF) and by GMF’s principal operating subsidiary in the U.S., AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI). The notes will rank pari passu with GMF’s other senior unsecured debt issuance, and therefore, the ratings assigned to the notes is equalized with GMF’s existing long-term Issuer Default Rating of ‘BB+’. The issuance is in line with GMF’s strategy to increase the proportion of unsecured debt in its capital structure and does not result in a significant increase in its leverage. As a result, there is no rating impact on GMF’s IDR or Positive Rating Outlook.

GMF’s ratings reflect the direct linkage to its parent, General Motors Company’s (GM, rated ‘BB+’, Positive Outlook by Fitch) ratings. Fitch considers GMF to be a ‘core’ subsidiary of GM based on actual and potential support provided to GMF from GM, increasing percentage of GMF’s earning assets related to GM, and strong financial and operational linkages between the companies. The ratings also reflect GMF’s seasoned management team, improving funding profile, consistent operating performance, good asset quality, and adequate capitalization and liquidity.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The expected ratings assigned to the proposed notes are equalized with GMF’s IDR, and therefore would be expected to move in parallel with any changes in GMF’s ratings. The Positive Rating Outlook on GMF is linked to that of its parent, GM. GMF’s ratings will move in tandem with GM. Any change in Fitch’s view on whether GMF remains core to its parent could change this rating linkage with its parent. A material increase in leverage without a corresponding decrease in the risk of the portfolio, an inability to access funding for an extended period of time, and/or significant deterioration in the credit quality of the underlying loan and lease portfolio, could become constraining factors on the parent’s ratings.

Fitch has assigned the following ratings:

General Motors Financial International B.V. (GMFI)

–EUR650 million senior unsecured notes due February 2018 ‘BB+ (EXP)’

Fitch currently rates GMF as follows:

–Long-term IDR ‘BB+'; (Outlook Positive)

–Senior unsecured debt ‘BB+’.

Fitch currently rates GMFI as follows:

–Long-term IDR ‘BB+'; (Outlook Positive)

–Euro Medium Term Note Program ‘BB+’.

GS Finance Corp. Medium Term Notes An A From Fitch Ratings

Posted on February 4, 2015February 28, 2015 by MTN Blog Team

Medium Term Notes blog update is a copy of a press release from Fitch Ratings and found on Reuters.

Fitch Ratings has rated GS Finance Corp’s (GSFC) senior unsecured medium-term notes program series E ‘A’. The senior medium-term note program is fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, rated ‘A/F1’/Outlook Stable by Fitch). KEY RATING DRIVERS GSFC is a wholly owned subsidiary of GS, whose senior unsecured medium-term notes benefit from a full an unconditional guarantee from GS. Therefore, the senior unsecured medium-term notes rating of GSFC’s medium-term note program is equalized with GS’ senior unsecured rating. GSFC’s senior unsecured medium-term note rating is based solely upon the guarantee of GS. RATING SENSITIVITIES GSFC’s senior unsecured medium-term notes rating is sensitive to any rating action, positive or negative, taken against GS. Given GS’ fully and unconditional guarantee, any change in its ratings will likely impact the rating of this issue. Fitch assigns the following rating: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.: –GS Finance Corp Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note Program, Series E ‘A’ Contact: Primary Analyst Justin Fuller Senior Director +1-312-368-2057 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 70 W. Madison St. Chicago, IL 60602 Secondary Analyst Mohak Rao Director +1-212-908-0559 Committee Chairperson Nathan Flanders Managing Director +1-212-908-0827 Media Relations: Elizabeth Fogerty, New York, Tel: +1 (212) 908 0526, Email: elizabeth.fogerty@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com