Fitch Affirms SLM 2002-4; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings affirms the SLM Student Loan Trust 2002-4 class B notes at 'AAAsf' with a Stable Outlook. The class A notes were paid in full on the December 2015 distribution date.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

High Collateral Quality: The trust collateral is comprised of 100% of Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. The credit quality of the trust collateral is high, in Fitch's opinion, based on the guarantees provided by the transaction's eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest. Fitch rates the U.S. sovereign government 'AAA' with a Stable Outlook.

Sufficient Credit Enhancement (CE): Credit Enhancement is provided by overcollateralization (OC; the excess of trust's asset balance over bond balance) and excess spread. As of February 2015, reported total parity excluding the reserve is 114.22% and total effective parity, including the reserve, is 117.75%. The trust pool factor is below the 10% cleanup call so excess spread is allocated to the pay-down of note principal.

Adequate Liquidity Support: Liquidity support is provided by a reserve account. The reserve is equal to the greater of 0.25% of the pool balance and $1,503,142, currently sized at the floor.

Acceptable Servicing Capabilities: Day-to-day servicing is provided by Navient Solutions, Inc. (formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc.). Fitch believes Navient to be an acceptable servicer of FFELP student loans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Since the FFELP student loan ABS relies on the U.S. government to reimburse defaults, 'AAAsf' FFELP ABS ratings will likely move in tandem with the 'AAA' U.S. sovereign rating. Aside from the U.S. sovereign rating, defaults and basis risk account for the majority of the risk embedded in FFELP student loan transactions. Additional defaults and basis shock beyond Fitch's published stresses could result in future downgrades. Likewise, a buildup of credit enhancement driven by positive excess spread given favorable basis factor conditions could lead to future upgrades.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' (March 31, 2015);

--'Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria' (June 23, 2014).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Rating U.S. Federal Family Education Loan Program Student Loan ABS Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750530

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=864268

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=985225

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