���������ֳ�

���������ֳ�-London/Madrid-17 November 2006: ���������ֳ� has today assigned expected ratings to AyT Genova Hipotecario IX, Fondo de Titulizacion Hipotecaria's (or the "fund") mortgage-backed floating-rate notes totalling EUR1,000 million due in July 2039 as follows:

EUR217.5m Class A1: 'AAA'
EUR750m Class A2: 'AAA'
EUR11m Class B: 'AA-' (AA minus)
EUR10.8m Class C: 'BBB+' and,
EUR10.7m Class D: 'BB'.

The final ratings are contingent upon receipt of final documents conforming to information already received.

This transaction is a cash flow securitisation of a EUR1,000m static pool of first-ranking residential mortgage loans originated by Barclays Bank, S.A. ("BBSA", or "the seller"), an entity which is 99.67%-owned by Barclays Bank PLC (rated 'AA+'/'F1+'). This is the ninth residential mortgage securitisation to be conducted by BBSA through the "Genova" programme and the seventh to be rated by ���������ֳ�. As in previous Genova transactions, BBSA originated the securitised mortgages and will continue to service the portfolio.

The expected ratings are based on the quality of the underlying collateral, the underwriting and servicing of the mortgage loans, available credit enhancement and the sound legal and financial structure of the transaction. The expected ratings assigned to each of the notes address the fund's capacity for timely payment of interest on each payment date and for repayment of the principal during the life of the operation and, in all events, prior to the legal maturity date, according to the terms and conditions of the documentation, which envisage interest deferral triggers on the Class B, C and D notes.

The fund will be regulated by Spanish Securitisation Law 19/1992 and Royal Decree 926/1998. Its sole purpose will be to transform into securities the mortgage participations ("participaciones hipotecarias" or "PHs") it will acquire from BBSA. The PHs will be subscribed by Ahorro y Titulizacion, S.G.F.T., S.A. ("the sociedad gestora"), whose sole function is to manage asset-backed notes on behalf of the fund.

The securitised pool comprises Hipoteca Remunerada loans, an amortising mortgage product bearing a margin of 0.45% over 12-month Euribor. All loans are paid via direct debit since the Hipoteca Remunerada product is marketed along with an interest-bearing bank account.

Since Hipoteca Remunerada is primarily targeted at high-net-worth Spanish clients, the average value of the properties backing the mortgages is over EUR328,000 and many of them fall into the high end of the Spanish property market, where demand may slow in times of economic crisis. ���������ֳ� addressed this risk in its recovery rate calculations by increasing the market value decline ("MVD") assumptions for these high-value properties through application of a jumbo stress of between 15% and 25%.

The pre-sale report is available on the agency's website at under Pre-Sale Reports.

Contacts: Marina Alcalde, Madrid, Tel: +34 91 702 4612; Suzanne Albers, London, + 44 20 7417 6325.

Media Relations: Mayra Cunningham, London, Tel: +44 20 7417 3557.