(Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall)
DALLAS, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation , a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, today announced that World Financial Network Credit Card Master Note Trust has issued $950,000,000 of fixed-rate term asset-backed securities. The asset-backed securities were issued as part of the securitization program for Alliance Data's private label credit card banking subsidiary, World Financial Network National Bank. Today's announcement represents a continuation of the Company's strategy of utilizing various funding sources to achieve an overall balanced funding structure.
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Ed Heffernan, president and chief executive officer, said, "Continuing to secure long-term fixed-rate sources of funding is one of our critical objectives. Accessing the term markets frees-up additional excess liquidity from our other sources of funding such as CDs and bank conduits. This, in turn, supports our plan of augmenting our private label business by taking advantage of the current favorable funding environment for acquiring high-quality credit card portfolios to supplement our organic growth."
The securities consist of three series of notes with an average life of just under three years. Approximately $750 million of the notes are rated AAA, are eligible collateral under the U.S. government's TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility) program and carry a weighted average fixed rate just under 4 percent. The remaining approximately $200 million of investment grade securities have been and will continue to be retained by the Company and financed through low-cost FDIC-insured CDs, which is consistent with the Company's strategy on recent offerings. RBS, Wells Fargo Securities, and Barclays Capital were the lead advisers to the Company.
This offering, combined with the previous issuance of $709 million announced in April, brings the Company's total issuance this year of term fixed-rate asset-backed securities to $1.7 billion. Along with another $1.2 billion in term fixed-rate bonds still outstanding, the Company's private label portfolio now has two-thirds of its funding through asset-backed securities with fixed-rate, multi-year terms.
Bob Armiak, Alliance Data senior vice president and treasurer, commented, "We are thrilled to have locked in term financing at extremely low rates.
