Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION
RFS HOLDING, L.L.C
GE CAPITAL CREDIT CARD MASTER NOTE TRUST
SERIES 2009-1 ASSET BACKED NOTES
$1,000,000,000 Class A Notes
UNDERWRITING
AGREEMENT
Banc of America Securities LLC
214 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28255
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
60 Wall Street, 19 th Floor
New York, NY 10005
each acting on behalf of itself and
as Representative of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto
(together, the “ Representatives ”)
May 5, 2009
Ladies and Gentlemen:
RFS Holding, L.L.C., a limited
liability company organized and existing under the laws of the
State of Delaware (the “ Company ”), proposes to
cause GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust (the “
Issuer ”) to issue $1,000,000,000 aggregate principal
amount of Class A Asset Backed Notes, Series 2009-1 (the
“ Class A Notes ”), $168,384,879 aggregate
principal amount of the Class B Asset Backed Notes,
Series 2009-1 (the “ Class B Notes ”)
and $109,965,636 aggregate principal amount of the Class C
Asset Backed Notes, Series 2009-1 (the “ Class C
Notes ” and, together with the Class A Notes and the
Class B Notes, the “ Notes ”). The
Class A Notes that each of the underwriters listed on Schedule
A hereto (the “ Underwriters ”) agrees to
purchase are referred to herein as the “ Offered Notes
”. The Class B Notes and the Class C Notes
will be sold pursuant to a Note Purchase Agreement, to be dated
May 12, 2009 (the “ Note Purchase Agreement
”), among the Company and the initial purchaser named
therein. The offering of the Offered Notes by the
Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement is referred to herein as
the “ Note Offering ”. The Company is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of RFS Holding, Inc. (“
Holding ”).
One or more of the Underwriters is a
financial institution appearing on the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York’s list of Primary Government Securities Dealers
Reporting to the Government Securities Dealers Statistics Unit of
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (each
such financial institution, a “ Primary
Dealer ”), and may be a party to that certain Master Loan
and Security Agreement among the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
(the “ FRBNY ”), as Lender, various Primary
Dealers from time to time party thereto, each on behalf of itself
and its respective customers as borrowers thereunder from time to
time, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Administrator, and The
Bank of New York Mellon, as Custodian (the “ MLSA
”), in connection with the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan
Facility (the “ TALF ”). To the extent
expressly provided in this Agreement, and subject to the
limitations in Section 8, certain of the rights, benefits and
remedies of the Underwriters under this Agreement will be for the
benefit of, and will be enforceable by, each Underwriter not only
in such capacity but also in its capacity as a Primary Dealer and
as a signatory to the MLSA.
The Issuer is a Delaware statutory
trust formed pursuant to (a) a Trust Agreement, dated as of
September 25, 2003 (the “ Trust Agreement
”), between the Company and BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware, as
owner trustee (the “ Owner Trustee ”), and
(b) the filing of a certificate of trust with the Secretary of
State of Delaware on September 24, 2003. The Notes will
be issued pursuant to a Master Indenture, dated as of
September 25, 2003, and as amended as of February 9,
2004, June 17, 2004, August 31, 2006, June 28, 2007
and May 22, 2008 (the “ Master Indenture
”), between the Issuer and Deutsche Bank Trust Company
Americas, as indenture trustee (the “ Indenture
Trustee ”), as supplemented by the Series 2009-1
Indenture Supplement with respect to the Notes, to be dated on or
about May 12, 2009 (the “ Indenture Supplement
” and, together with the Master Indenture, the “
Indenture ”).
The assets of the Issuer include,
among other things, certain amounts due (the “
Receivables ”) on a pool of private label and
co-branded credit card accounts of GE Money Bank (the “
Bank ”).
The Receivables are transferred by
the Company to the Issuer pursuant to the Transfer Agreement, dated
as of September 25, 2003, and as amended as of
February 9, 2004, June 17, 2004, November 21, 2004,
August 31, 2006, December 21, 2006, May 21, 2008,
December 29, 2008 and February 26, 2009 (the “
Transfer Agreement ”), between the Company and the
Issuer. The Receivables transferred to the Issuer by the
Company were acquired by the Company from the Bank pursuant to a
Receivables Sale Agreement, dated as of June 27, 2003, and as
amended as of February 9, 2004, February 7, 2005,
December 21, 2006, May 21, 2008, December 29, 2008
and February 26, 2009 (the “ Receivables Sale
Agreement ”), between the Company and the Bank.
General Electric Capital Corporation (“ GECC ”),
as servicer (the “ Servicer ”) has agreed to
conduct the servicing, collection and administration of the
Receivables owned by the Issuer pursuant to a Servicing Agreement,
dated as of June 27, 2003, and as amended as of May 22,
2006, June 28, 2007, and May 22, 2008 (the “
Servicing Agreement ”) between the Issuer and the
Servicer (as successor to the Bank).
Pursuant to (i) an Amended and
Restated Contribution Agreement, dated as of November 1, 2004
and the Supplemental Contribution Agreement, dated as of
March 29, 2005, each among Holding, GECC and General Electric
Capital Services, Inc. (“ GECS ”) and
(ii) a Supplemental Contribution Agreement, dated as of
June 15, 2004 and the First Amendment to Supplemental
Contribution Agreement, to be dated as of May 12, 2009, each
between Holding and GECS (collectively, the “ Contribution
Agreement ”), GECS has agreed to make capital
contributions to Holding in the event that Holding is obligated to
make certain payments, including payments to
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the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, and
Holding does not otherwise have funds available to make such
payments.
GECC has agreed to provide notices
and perform on behalf of the Issuer certain other administrative
obligations required by the Transfer Agreement, the Servicing
Agreement, the Master Indenture and each indenture supplement for
each series of notes issued by the Issuer, pursuant to an
Administration Agreement, dated as of September 25, 2003 (the
“ Administration Agreement ”), between GECC, as
administrator, the Issuer and BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware, as
Owner Trustee. The Trust Agreement, the Indenture, the
Transfer Agreement, the Receivables Sale Agreement, the Servicing
Agreement, the Contribution Agreement, the Administration Agreement
and any interest rate swaps entered into by the Issuer in
connection with the Offered Notes are referred to herein,
collectively, as the “ Transaction Documents
.”
To the extent not defined herein,
capitalized terms used herein have the meanings assigned in the
Transaction Documents.
For purposes of this Agreement and
all related documents, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) accounting terms not otherwise defined in this Agreement,
and accounting terms partly defined in this Agreement to the extent
not defined, shall have the respective meanings given to them under
GAAP; (b) unless otherwise provided, references to any month,
quarter or year refer to a calendar month, quarter or year;
(c) terms defined in Article 9 of the UCC as in effect in
the applicable jurisdiction and not otherwise defined in this
Agreement are used as defined in that Article; (d) references
to any amount as on deposit or outstanding on any particular date
mean such amount at the close of business on such day; (e) the
words “hereof”, “herein” and
“hereunder” and words of similar import refer to this
Agreement (or the certificate or other document in which they are
used) as a whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement (or such certificate or document); (f) references to
any Section, Schedule or Exhibit are references to Sections,
Schedules and Exhibits in or to this Agreement (or the certificate
or other document in which the reference is made), and references
to any paragraph, subsection, clause or other subdivision within
any Section or definition refer to such paragraph, subsection,
clause or other subdivision of such Section or definition;
(g) the term “including” means “including
without limitation”; (h) references to any law or
regulation refer to that law or regulation as amended from time to
time and include any successor law or regulation;
(i) references to any agreement refer to that agreement as
from time to time amended, restated or supplemented or as the terms
of such agreement are waived or modified in accordance with its
terms; and (j) references to any Person include that
Person’s successors and permitted assigns.
The Company has
prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“ Commission ”) in accordance with the
provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “ Act
”), a registration statement on Form S-3 (having the
registration number 333-144945), including a form of prospectus and
such amendments thereto as may have been filed prior to the date
hereof, relating to the Offered Notes and the offering thereof in
accordance with Rule 415 under the Act. If any
post-effective amendment to such registration statement has been
filed with respect thereto, prior to the execution and delivery of
this Agreement, the most recent such amendment has been declared
effective by the Commission. For purposes of this Agreement,
“ Effective Time ” means the date and time as of
which such registration statement, or the most recent
post-effective amendment thereto, if any, was declared effective by
the Commission, and “ Effective
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Date ” means the date of
the Effective Time. Such registration statement, as amended
at the Effective Time, including all material incorporated by
reference therein and including all information (if any) deemed to
be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness
pursuant to Rule 430B under the Act, is referred to in this
Agreement as the “ Registration Statement
.” The Registration Statement has been declared
effective by the Commission not more than three years prior to the
date hereof.
The Company
proposes to file with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) under the Act (“
Rule 424(b) ”) a supplement (the “
Prospectus Supplement ”) to the prospectus included in
the Registration Statement (such prospectus, in the form it appears
in the Registration Statement, or in the form most recently revised
and filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), is
hereinafter referred to as the “ Base Prospectus
”) relating to the Offered Notes and the method of
distribution thereof. The Base Prospectus and the Prospectus
Supplement, together with any amendment thereof or supplement
thereto, together with the information referred to under the
caption “Static Pool Information” in the Prospectus
Supplement regardless of whether it is deemed a part of the
Prospectus Supplement, are hereinafter referred to as the “
Prospectus ”.
On May 5,
2009 (the date the first Contract of Sale (as defined below) was
entered into as designated by the Representatives (the “
Date of Sale ”)), the Company and the Representatives
entered into this Underwriting Agreement (this “
Agreement ”). The Company had previously
prepared a Preliminary Prospectus dated April 30, 2009 with
respect to such Offered Notes (together with the Permitted
Additional Information (as defined herein ), the “ Date of
Sale Information ”). As used herein, “
Preliminary Prospectus ” means, with respect to any
date referred to herein, the most recent preliminary Prospectus (as
amended or supplemented, if applicable), which has been prepared
and delivered by the Company to the Representatives in accordance
with the provisions hereof that describe the Offered Notes and is
filed or will be filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b), together with the information referred to under
the caption “Static Pool Information” therein
regardless of whether it is deemed a part of the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus. If, subsequent to the Date of
Sale (as defined above) and prior to the Closing Date (as defined
below), the Preliminary Prospectus included an untrue statement of
material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and the
Company has prepared and delivered to the Underwriters a Corrected
Prospectus (as defined below), and as a result investors in the
Offered Notes elect to terminate their existing “Contracts of
Sale” (within the meaning of Rule 159 under the Act) for
any Offered Notes, then “Date of Sale Information” will
refer to the information conveyed to investors on the date of entry
into the first new Contract of Sale in an amended Preliminary
Prospectus approved by the Company and the Representatives that
corrects such material misstatements or omissions (a “
Corrected Prospectus ”) and “Date of Sale”
will refer to the date on which such new Contracts of Sale were
entered into.
The Company and Holding hereby
agree, severally and not jointly, with the Underwriters for the
Class A Notes as follows:
1.
Representations and
Warranties . The Company
represents and warrants to and agrees (i) with each
Underwriter and (ii) with respect to clauses (a)(iii)(D),
(b) and (h) of this
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Section 1 only, with
the Underwriters who are Primary Dealers, in their capacities as
Primary Dealers with respect to TALF loans secured by the Offered
Notes, that:
(a)
(i) The
conditions to the use of a registration statement on Form S-3
under the Act, as set forth in the General Instructions to
Form S-3, and the conditions of Rule 415 under the Act,
have been satisfied with respect to the Registration
Statement. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement has been issued, and no proceeding for that
purpose has been instituted or threatened by the
Commission.
(ii)
As of the Closing
Date (as such term is defined below), the Registration Statement,
the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, except with respect
to any modification as to which the Representatives have been
notified, shall be in all substantive respects in the form
furnished to the Representatives or its counsel before such date
or, to the extent not completed on such date, shall contain only
such specific additional information and other changes (beyond that
contained in the Preliminary Prospectus that has previously been
furnished to the Representatives) as the Company or Holding has
advised the Representatives, before such date, will be included or
made therein.
(iii)
(A) The
Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date, conformed in all
material respects to the requirements of the Act and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(B) on the date of this Agreement, the Registration Statement
and the Prospectus, conform, and as of the time of filing the
Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b), the Prospectus will
conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and
the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and of
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended; (C) the
Registration Statement, at the Effective Time, did not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading; and (D) the Prospectus as
of its date, and as of the time of filing pursuant to
Rule 424(b), and as of the Closing Date, will not include any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;
provided, however, that the Company makes no representations
or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from
such Registration Statement or such Prospectus in reliance upon and
in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by
or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for use in the
preparation thereof, which information consists of the
Underwriters’ Information (as defined herein).
(b)
The Date of Sale
Information at the Date of Sale did not, and at the Closing Date
will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state any material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (it being
understood that no representation or warranty is made with respect
to the omission of pricing and price-dependent information, which
information shall of necessity appear only in the final
Prospectus); provided , that this representation and
warranty shall not
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apply to any
statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity
with information contained in or omitted from either the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus based upon
Underwriters’ Information.
(c)
Other than with
respect to the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the
Permitted Additional Information (as defined below), a Free Writing
Prospectus filed with the Commission on April 29, 2009 and any
Underwriter Additional Information (as defined in
Section 10(b)), the Issuer (including its agents and
representatives) has not made, used, authorized or approved and
will not make, use, authorize or approve any “written
communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act)
that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to
buy the Offered Notes.
(d)
The Offered Notes
will conform to the description thereof contained in the
Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus and as of the Closing
Date will be duly and validly authorized and, when validly
executed, countersigned, issued and delivered in accordance with
the Indenture and sold to the Underwriters as provided herein, will
be validly issued and outstanding and entitled to the benefits of
the related Indenture.
(e)
Neither the
issuance nor sale of the Offered Notes nor the consummation of any
other of the transactions herein contemplated, nor the fulfillment
of the terms hereof, will conflict with any statute, order or
regulation applicable to the Company with respect to the offering
of the Offered Notes by any court, regulatory body, administrative
agency or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company or
with any organizational document of the Company or any instrument
or any agreement under which the Company is bound or to which it is
a party.
(f)
This Agreement
has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the
Company.
(g)
The Company was
not, on the date on which the first bona fide offer of the Offered
Notes sold pursuant to this Agreement was made, an
“ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under
the Act.
(h)
On the Closing Date, (i) all
actions required by the FRBNY for the Offered Notes to be eligible
collateral under the TALF have been taken, (ii) the Offered
Notes will be eligible collateral under the TALF and (iii) the
Preliminary Prospectus contains, and the Prospectus will contain,
all applicable information required to be included therein under
the TALF; provided, however, that, except as specifically set forth
in this Agreement, the Company makes no representation or warranty
with respect to the application of any provision of the TALF or the
availability of or the eligibility of a borrower for loans under
the TALF.
2.
Purchase and
Sale; Structuring Fee .
(a)
On the basis of
the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained,
but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the
Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters, and the Underwriters
agree to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of 99.75%
of the principal amount thereof, $1,000,000,000
aggregate
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principal amount
of the Class A Notes, each Underwriter to purchase the amounts
shown on Schedule A hereto.
(b)
The parties
hereto agree that settlement for all securities pursuant to this
Agreement shall take place on the terms set forth herein and not as
set forth in Rule 15c6-1(a) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act
”).
(c)
The Company
agrees to pay to each Representative a nonrefundable structuring
fee of $175,000, which shall be payable only if the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement are consummated.
3.
Delivery and
Payment . Delivery of and
payment for the Offered Notes shall be made at the offices of Mayer
Brown LLP, Chicago, Illinois, at 10:00 A.M., New York City
time, on the “Closing Date” specified in the Indenture
Supplement, which date and time may be postponed by agreement
between the Representatives and the Company (such date and time
being herein called the “ Closing Date ”).
Delivery of such Offered Notes shall be made to the Underwriters
against payment by the Underwriters of the purchase price thereof
to or upon the order of the Company by wire transfer in federal or
other immediately available funds or by check payable in federal
funds, as the Company shall specify no later than five full
business days prior to such Closing Date. Unless delivery is
made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company, the
Offered Notes shall be registered in such names and in such
authorized denominations as the Representatives may request not
less than two full business days in advance of the Closing
Date.
The Company agrees to notify the
Representatives at least two business days before the Closing Date
of the exact principal balance evidenced by the Offered Notes and
to have such Offered Notes available for inspection in New York,
New York, no later than 12:00 noon, New York City time on the
business day prior to the Closing Date.
4.
Offering by
the Underwriters . (a) It is
understood that each Underwriter proposes to offer the Offered
Notes for sale to the public as set forth in the
Prospectus.
(b)
Each Underwriter
(severally and not jointly) represents and warrants that it has
complied in all material respects, and agrees that it will comply
in all material respects, with all applicable securities laws and
regulations in each jurisdiction in which it purchases, offers,
sells or delivers the Offered Notes or distributes the
Prospectus. Without limiting the foregoing, each Underwriter
agrees that all offers, solicitations and sales of the Offered
Notes made by it shall be made in compliance with all applicable
laws and regulations. Furthermore, such Underwriter shall
comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with
its use of Free Writing Prospectuses, including but not limited to
Rules 164 and 433 of the Act.
5.
Agreements
. The
Company agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a)
The Company will
cause the Prospectus to be transmitted to the Commission for filing
pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act by means reasonably
calculated to result in filing with the Commission pursuant to such
rule, and prior to the termination of the Note Offering, also will
advise the Representatives of the issuance by
7
the Commission of
any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration
Statement or preventing the offer and sale of the Offered
Notes.
(b)
If, at any time
when a prospectus relating to the Offered Notes is required to be
delivered under the Act, any event occurs as a result of which the
Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact
necessary to make the statements therein in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made not misleading, or if it
shall be necessary at any time to amend or supplement the
Prospectus to comply with the Act or the rules thereunder, the
Company promptly will notify the Representatives of such event and
prepare and file with the Commission, an amendment or supplement
that will correct such statement or omission or an amendment which
will effect such compliance.
(c)
The Company will
furnish to the Representatives a copy of the related Registration
Statement (including exhibits thereto) and, so long as delivery of
a prospectus by the Underwriters or dealers may be required by the
Act, as many copies of the Prospectus as the Underwriters may
reasonably request.
(d)
The Company will
furnish such information, execute such instruments and take such
actions as may be reasonably requested by the Representatives to
qualify the Offered Notes for sale under the laws of such
jurisdictions as the Representatives may designate and to maintain
such qualifications in effect so long as required for the initial
distribution of the Offered Notes; provided, however, that
the Company shall not be required to qualify to do business in any
jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action
which would subject it to general or unlimited service of process
in any jurisdiction in which it is not now so subject.
(e)
If the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated, the
Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the
performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement,
and will reimburse the Underwriters for any reasonable expenses
(excluding fees of the Underwriters’ counsel) reasonably
incurred by it in connection with qualification of the Offered
Notes for sale and determination of their eligibility for
investment under the laws of such jurisdictions as the
Representatives have reasonably requested pursuant to
Section 5(d), for any fees charged by investment rating
agencies for the rating of the Offered Notes, and for expenses
incurred in distributing the Prospectus to the Underwriters.
If the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not
consummated because any condition to the obligations of the
Underwriters set forth in Section 6 is not satisfied or
because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the
Company to perform any agreement herein or to comply with any
provision hereof other than by reason of default by the
Underwriters, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters upon
demand for all out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable fees
and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been incurred by the
Underwriters in connection with the proposed purchase, sale and
offering of the Offered Notes. Except as herein provided, the
Underwriters shall be responsible for paying all costs and expenses
incurred by them, including the fees and disbursements of their
counsel, in connection with the purchase and sale of the Offered
Notes.
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(f)
The Company will file with the
Commission any Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus delivered to it
by the Underwriters for filing if such filing is required by
Rule 433(d) of the Act.
(g)
For so long as any of the
Class A Notes remain outstanding, the Company will cause the
Issuer to comply with its obligations under paragraph 5 of Annex
III to the Prospectus Supplement (unless waived by the FRBNY)
(i) to notify the FRBNY and all registered holders of the
Class A Notes if certain statements were not correct when made
or have ceased to be correct no later than 9:00 a.m. New York
City time on the fourth business day following such determination,
and (ii) to issue a press release regarding such determination
no later than 9:00 a.m. New York City time on the fourth
business day following such determination, and will provide each
Underwriter with a copy of such notification.
6.
Conditions to
the Obligations of the Underwriters . The obligations of
the Underwriters to purchase the Offered Notes shall be subject to
the accuracy in all material respects of the representations and
warranties on the part of the Company contained in this Agreement,
to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any
applicable officers’ certificates pursuant to the provisions
hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations under
this Agreement and to the following additional conditions
applicable to the Note Offering:
(a)
No stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the related Registration Statement
shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall
have been instituted, or to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened by the Commission.
(b)
The Company shall
have furnished to the Representatives a certificate of the Company,
signed by the President, any Vice President, or the principal
financial or accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing
Date, to the effect that the signer of such certificate has
carefully examined the Transaction Documents to which the Company
is a party, and that, to the best of such person’s knowledge
after reasonable investigation, the representations and warranties
of the Company in this Agreement and the Transaction Documents to
which the Company is a party are true and correct in all material
respects, and the Company has complied with all the agreements and
satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or
satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date.
(c)
The
Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date a signed
opinion of Mayer Brown LLP, special New York counsel for the
Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Representatives and counsel to the Representatives, dated the
Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, to the effect
that:
(i)
the Company is a
limited liability company validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the State of Delaware; Holding is a corporation
validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State
of Delaware; and each of the Company and Holding has full power and
authority to enter into and
9
perform its
obligations under this Agreement and the Transaction Documents and
to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby;
(ii)
the execution and
delivery by each of the Bank, GECC, GECS, Holding, the Issuer and
the Company (each, a “ Specified Entity ”) of
this Agreement (if applicable) and the Transaction Documents to
which it is a party, and the consummation by each of the
transactions contemplated thereby, will not violate any applicable
law, statute or governmental rule or regulation;
(iii)
the execution and
delivery by each Specified Entity of this Agreement (if applicable)
and the Transaction Documents to which it is a party does not, and
the consummation by each Specified Entity of the transactions
contemplated thereby to occur on the date of this opinion will not,
require any consent, authorization or approval of, the giving of
notice to or registration with any governmental entity, except such
as may have been made and such as may be required under the Federal
securities laws, the blue sky laws of any jurisdiction or the
Uniform Commercial Code of any state;
(iv)
the execution and
delivery by each of the Company and Holding of this Agreement and
the Transaction Documents to which it is a party do not, and the
consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated
thereby to occur on the date of this opinion will not, violate or
contravene any term or provision of the Certificate of Formation or
the Limited Liability Company Agreement of the Company or the
Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws of Holding;
(v)
each of the
Transaction Documents (other than the Trust Agreement) constitutes
a legal, valid and binding obligation of each of GECC, GECS, the
Issuer, the Company and Holding that is a party thereto,
enforceable against each such party in accordance with its
terms;
(vi)
each of the Notes
is in due and proper form and when executed, authenticated and
delivered as specified in the Indenture, and when delivered against
payment of the consideration specified herein or in the Note
Purchase Agreement, as applicable, it will be validly issued and
outstanding, will constitute the legal, valid and binding
obligation of the Issuer, enforceable against the Issuer in
accordance with its terms, and will be entitled to the benefits of
the Indenture;
(vii)
the Issuer is not
now, and immediately following the issuance of the Notes pursuant
to the Indenture will not be, required to be registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(viii)
the Registration
Statement has become effective under the Act, and the Prospectus
has been filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) thereunder in the manner and within the time
period required by Rule 424(b); to the best of such
counsel’s knowledge, no stop order suspending the
effectiveness
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of the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus and no proceedings for
that purpose have been instituted;
(ix)
the statements in
the Base Prospectus under the headings “ The
Trust—Perfection and Priority of Security Interests
” and “—Conservatorship and Receivership;
Bankruptcy ,” and “ ERISA Considerations
” and the statements in the Prospectus Supplement under the
heading “ Structural Summary—ERISA
Considerations ” to the extent they constitute matters of
law or legal conclusions with respect thereto, have been reviewed
by us and are correct in all material respects;
(x)
the Transaction
Documents and the Notes conform in all material respects to the
descriptions thereof contained in the Prospectus;
(xi)
the Indenture has
been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as
amended and complies as to form with the Trust Indenture Act of
1939 and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder; and
(xii)
each of the
Registration Statement, as of its Effective Date, and the
Prospectus, as of its date, complied as to form in all material
respects with the requirements of the Act and the rules and
regulations under the Act, except that such counsel need not
express any opinion as to the financial and statistical data
included therein or excluded therefrom or the exhibits to the
Registration Statement and, except as, and to the extent set forth
in paragraphs (ix) and (x) , such counsel need
not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or
fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus.
(d)
The
Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date a signed
opinion of Michael P. Paolillo, Special Transaction Counsel for the
Bank, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Representatives and counsel to the Representatives, dated the
Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, to the effect
that:
(i)
the Bank is
(A) duly organized and validly existing as a Federal savings
bank in good standing under the laws of the United States and
(B) duly qualified to do business and is in good standing as a
foreign corporation in each jurisdiction where the conduct of its
business or the ownership, lease or operation of its property
requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so
qualified would not have a material adverse effect on its ability
to perform its obligations under the Receivables Sale
Agreement;
(ii)
the Bank has all
requisite corporate power and authority to execute, deliver and
perform its obligations under the Receivables Sale Agreement and to
consummate the transactions provided for therein;
(iii)
the execution,
delivery and performance by the Bank of the Receivables Sale
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
provided
11
for therein have
been duly authorized by all requisite corporate action on the part
of the Bank;
(iv)
the Receivables
Sale Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by a duly
authorized officer of the Bank;
(v)
the execution,
delivery and performance by the Bank of the Receivables Sale
Agreement and the consummation by the Bank of the transactions
provided for therein, do not and will not (A) contravene,
violate or constitute a default under any provision of the
certificate of incorporation or By-laws of the Bank, (B) to
the best of such counsel’s knowledge, contravene or violate
any judgment, injunction, order or decree, to which the Bank or its
property is subject, (C) to the best of such counsel’s
knowledge, result in the creation or imposition of any mortgage,
lien, pledge, charge, security interest or other encumbrance upon
any property or assets of the Bank, except as contemplated by the
Servicing Agreement and the Receivables Sale Agreement or
(D) contravene violate, conflict with or constitute a default
under any agreement, lease, indenture, trust, deed, mortgage, or
other instrument of which such counsel is aware to which the Bank
is a party or by which the Bank is bound.
(e)
The
Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date a signed
opinion of Michael P. Paolillo, Senior Vice President and Counsel,
Capital Markets for GE Capital, Retail Finance, in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives and
counsel to the Representatives, dated the Closing Date and
addressed to the Representatives to the effect that:
(i)
each of GECC and
GECS is validly existing and in good standing as a corporation
under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the corporate power
and authority to transact the business in which it is now engaged
and to enter into and to perform all of its obligations under the
Servicing Agreement, the Administration Agreement and the
Contribution Agreement to which it is a party in the various
capacities set forth therein;
(ii)
the execution,
delivery and performance by each of GECC and GECS of the Servicing
Agreement, the Administration Agreement and the Contribution
Agreement to which it is a party and the consummation by GECC and
GECS of the transactions contemplated thereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of GECC
and GECS;
(iii)
the Servicing
Agreement, the Administration Agreement and the Contribution
Agreement to which it is a party have been duly and validly
executed and delivered by GECC and GECS; and
(iv)
the execution and
delivery by each of GECC and GECS of the Servicing Agreement, the
Administration Agreement and the Contribution Agreement to which it
is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
thereby will not conflict with, result in a breach of any of the
terms
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and provisions
of, constitute (with or without notice or lapse of time) a default
under (A) the certificate of incorporation or By-laws of GECC
or, with respect to the Contribution Agreement, GECS, (B) to
such counsel’s knowledge, and without any special
investigation for this purpose, any material indenture, contract,
lease, mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument of agreement to
which GECC or, with respect to the Contribution Agreement, GECS is
a party or by which GECC or, with respect to the Contribution
Agreement, GECS is bound, or (C) to such counsel’s
knowledge and without any special investigation for this purpose,
any judgment, writ, injunction, decree, order or ruling of any
court or governmental authority having jurisdiction over GECC or,
with respect to the Contribution Agreement, GECS.
(f)
The
Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date a signed
opinion of Richards, Layton & Finger, counsel for the
Owner Trustee, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Representatives and counsel to the Representatives, dated the
Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, to the effect
that:
(i)
the Owner Trustee
is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing
as a banking corporation under the laws of the State of
Delaware;
(ii)
the Owner Trustee
has the power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its
obligations under the Trust Agreement and as trustee under the
Administration Agreement, and to consummate the transactions
contemplated thereby;
(iii)
the Owner Trustee
has duly authorized, executed and delivered the Trust Agreement and
the Administration Agreement, as trustee, and the Trust Agreement
constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Owner
Trustee, enforceable against the Owner T
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