DBRS Upgrades White Point Funding to R-1 (middle)

DBRS has today upgraded the rating of White Point Funding, Inc.’s (WP Funding) 4(2) Commercial Paper to R-1 (middle) from R-1 (low). WP Funding is sponsored by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

DBRS’s original rating of WP Funding at R-1 (low) was warranted (see DBRS press release of January 6, 2006) because RBC’s management team wanted the flexibility to acquire transactions of “A” credit quality. After a full year of operations, WP Funding has accumulated a portfolio consisting of 11 pools of assets. While the initial transaction was “A” credit quality, since then all new transactions have been externally rated AA or higher. Additionally, WP Funding is unique in that it posts 10% program-wide credit enhancement (PWCE) to all transactions including externally highly rated transactions.

The combination of the credit strength of WP Funding’s current portfolio and its very favorable PWCE policy allows WP Funding to achieve an R-1 (middle) rating.