S&P Asgns Prelim Rtgs in Galway Bay CLO Deal.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2003

Standard & Poor's--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the EUR407 million senior, mezzanine, and subordinated notes to be issued by Galway Bay B.V., an SPE (see list below).

"This is the second transaction for which AIB Capital Markets PLC has acted as collateral manager, following last year's Clare Island B.V.," said Billy Radicopoulos, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's Structured Finance Ratings group in London.

The collateral backing the notes is a diversified portfolio of mainly senior secured and mezzanine loans meeting a set of pre-defined eligibility criteria.

The transaction allows up to 35% of the assets to be denominated in a currency other than euros. For such assets to be eligible for inclusion in the portfolio, they must be denominated in U.S. or Canadian dollars, or the currency of a western European country that has a foreign currency sovereign rating of at least 'AA-'.

It is a condition to acquiring assets that a currency swap transaction is entered into with a counterparty that meets Standard & Poor's minimum rating requirements, under which all payments of principal, interest, and any other amounts are exchanged for amounts in euros.

The preliminary ratings reflect:

-- The expected level of credit support in the form of

subordination provided by notes junior to their respective

classes;

-- Standard & Poor's assessment of the credit risk of the

expected portfolio;

-- Standard & Poor's cash-flow analysis, which subjects the

structure to a variety of stresses; and

-- The inclusion of structural features, which will divert the

cash flows to the rated noteholders upon deterioration of the

portfolio.

The full presale report for this transaction was published today and is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The presale report can also be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Click on Credit Ratings; then, in the left navigation bar under Browse by Business Line, select Structured Finance; scroll down to Presale Credit Reports to locate the article. Alternatively, call one of Standard & Poor's Ratings Desks: London (44) 20-7847-7400; Paris (33) 1-4420-6705; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-223; or Stockholm (46) 8-440-5916. Members of the media may contact the Press Office Hotline on (44) 20-7826-3605 or via [e-mail].

RATINGS LIST
Galway Bay B.V.
EUR407 Million Senior, Mezzanine, and Subordinated Notes
Class          Rating         Amount (Mil. EUR)
IA             AAA              7.0
IB             AAA            276.0
IIA            A               15.0
IIB            A               29.0
IIIB           BBB             15.5
IVB            BB-             24.5
Subordinated
 notes         N.R.            40.0
N.R.--Not rated.

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Copyright 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services