S&P Assigns Prelim 'AA' Rtg to Taishin's Japanese ABS.

Business Editors

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor's

Dec. 4, 2001--Standard & Poor's today assigned its preliminary double-'A' rating to Shinta Corp.'s JPY3.2 billion floating-rate notes. The notes are ultimately backed by unsecured consumer loans originated by

The preliminary rating is based on information as of Dec. 4, 2001. Subsequent information may result in the assignment of a final rating that differs from the preliminary rating. The preliminary rating addresses the full and timely payment of interest and the ultimate full repayment of principal by the transaction's legal final maturity of December 2009.

The notes to be issued by Shinta will be secured by senior trust certificates issued from a trust created with Chase Trust Bank from an approximately JPY4.1 billion pool of unsecured consumer loans. In addition to the senior certificates, the trust will issue subordinated certificates to be held by Taishin. The trust in this transaction will serve as a master trust for future note issuance, and Taishin may entrust additional receivables to the trust prior to the trust termination date or the occurrence of a rapid amortization event.

The preliminary rating is based on:

-- Overcollateralization of consumer loan receivables equal to 22% of the total
receivable balance;

-- Ample cash reserves to mitigate potential shortfalls in liquidity;

-- Rigorous rapid amortization events that will trigger a wind-down of the
transaction under certain adverse circumstances; and

-- The existence of a qualified back-up servicer at closing.

An English-language presale report for this transaction will soon be available on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's premier Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The English presale report will also be available on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Under Presale Reports, select Structured Finance, then Asset-Backed Securities. A Japanese-language presale report will also be available on Standard & Poor's Japanese Web site at www.standardandpoors.co.jp.