Fitch Raises Banistmo ABS

Fitch has upgraded a $235m Banistmo Credit Card Receivables Master Trust deal due 2011 to A minus from BBB. The promotion is owing to the continued positive performance of the future flow trust and the strengthening of the underlying collateral. The upgrade is further supported by improvements in underlying bank credit quality., Fitch upgraded Primer Banco del Istmo to BBB+ from BB+ following the acquisition of Grupo Banistmo by HSBC. The notes are backed by future and existing dollar-denominated credit card receivables from Visa and MasterCard. Recent debt-service coverage levels have been growing, and have been as high as 10 times (x). Receivables year-on-year flow growth has averaged 25% over the past two years, Fitch adds.