Press Release

DBRS Confirms Ratings of Eagle Credit Card Trust

Consumer Loans & Credit Cards
December 19, 2013

DBRS has today confirmed the ratings of the outstanding notes (the Notes) issued by Eagle Credit Card Trust (the Trust). The confirmation is part of DBRS’s continued effort to provide timely credit rating opinions and increased transparency to market participants.

-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2010-2, Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2010-2, Class B Notes at A (sf)
-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2010-2, Class C Notes at BBB (sf)
-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2013-1, Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2013-1, Class B Notes at A (sf)
-- Credit Card Receivables-Backed Notes, Series 2013-1, Class C Notes at BBB (sf)

The confirmation is based on the following factors:

(1) For the AAA (sf)-rated Class A Notes, credit enhancement is provided by subordination of 7.0%, excess spread in the range of 14% to 16%, and the series-specific reserve account, which could build up to 5% of the Invested Amount if the three-month average excess spread falls below 2%.

(2) For the A (sf)-rated Class B Notes, credit enhancement is available through subordination of 3.5%, excess spread and the series-specific reserve account.

(3) For the BBB (sf)-rated Class C Notes, credit protection is provided by excess spread and the series-specific reserve account.

(4) The payment rate and gross yield are among the highest in Canada, at 54.3% and 24.5%, respectively, as of October 31, 2013. One-month loss rates reached a peak of 7.4% in May 2009 and have since moderated to 3.5% as of October 2013.

(5) The custodial pool is a well-diversified portfolio of prime-quality obligors.

The Trust participates in a co-ownership structure, which means that the proceeds from each series of Notes were used to purchase an undivided co-ownership interest in the receivables of the designated accounts in the custodial pool. Each co-ownership interest is separate from and in addition to co-ownership interests previously created. President’s Choice Bank (PC Bank), as the seller, retains the residual undivided co-ownership interest (Retained Interest) in the custodial pool. The receivables include all amounts to be collected under the designated accounts, such as finance charges, cash advance fees, annual fees, interchange fees and principal receivables billed to cardholders. The custodial pool must be at least 107% of the Aggregate Invested Amount.

As the accounts are sold on a fully serviced basis, no servicing fee will be paid to PC Bank as long as PC Bank remains as the servicer. PC Bank shall remit collections as required to the Distribution Account and the Reserve Account on each distribution date. While PC Bank is currently not permitted to fully commingle collections as its performance guarantor does not have a short-term rating of R-1 (low) or higher, it is allowed to commingle the amount in excess of what is required to be paid or deposited for the next distribution date (partial commingling) as outlined in the transaction documents, subject to the provisions listed in DBRS’s Legal Criteria for Canadian Structured Finance. DBRS notes that the transaction documents do not require the remittance of collections within two business days when the performance guarantor is no longer rated investment grade as expected in DBRS’s Legal Criteria for Canadian Structured Finance. Should the performance guarantor be downgraded below investment grade, DBRS will assess the impact of partial commingling at the time and take appropriate rating action.

Notwithstanding the stated expected principal payment dates of the Notes, certain events may result in early repayment or delays of one or more series. Such events are called amortization events. Following the occurrence of a series amortization event, collections allocable to this series will be directed first to pay on a pro rata basis, all Trust expenses; second, to repay all accrued and unpaid interest on Class A, followed by the outstanding principal of the Class A Notes until nil; third, all accrued and unpaid interest on Class B, followed by the outstanding principal of the Class B Notes until nil; and fourth, all the accrued and unpaid interest on Class C, followed by the outstanding principal of the Class C Notes until nil. Essentially, this provides the more senior notes preferential access to the cash flows generated from the receivables for interest and principal repayments, in an amount equal to the subordination available for this class of notes.

The accounts in the custodial pool are originated and managed by PC Bank, as seller and servicer, according to its underwriting standards and credit and collection policies. In order to be eligible for transfer to the custodial pool, accounts must meet certain criteria. There are also restrictions on account additions by PC Bank, as seller, to ensure consistent credit quality of the custodial pool.

As the Trust participates in a co-ownership structure, all series of Notes are supported by the same pool of receivables and generally issued under the same requirements in respect of servicing, accumulation period, amortization events, priority of distributions and eligible investments. However, these requirements may be series specific. For more detailed information on the transaction structure, please refer to the rating reports of the Trust at www.dbrs.com.

The performance and characteristics of the custodial pool and the Notes are available and updated each month in the Monthly Canadian ABS Report. DBRS conducts a monthly stress-testing of each rated class of the Trust and the result indicates that simultaneous declines in yield and payment rates and increases in losses would not result in a failure of the Trust to repay the Notes on a timely basis. The severity of the tests applied is commensurate with the respective ratings of the Notes.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

The applicable methodologies are DBRS Criteria for Canadian Credit Card Securitization, Legal Criteria for Canadian Structured Finance and Canadian Structured Finance Surveillance, which are available on our website under Methodologies.

Ratings

  • US = Lead Analyst based in USA
  • CA = Lead Analyst based in Canada
  • EU = Lead Analyst based in EU
  • UK = Lead Analyst based in UK
  • E = EU endorsed
  • U = UK endorsed
  • Unsolicited Participating With Access
  • Unsolicited Participating Without Access
  • Unsolicited Non-participating

ALL MORNINGSTAR DBRS RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLAIMERS AND CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. PLEASE READ THESE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING MORNINGSTAR DBRS RATINGS, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS, POLICIES, RATING SCALES AND METHODOLOGIES.