DBRS Finalizes Provisional Ratings on DRB Prime Student Loan Trust 2017-A

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS) has today finalized its provisional ratings on the following classes of Notes issued by DRB Prime Student Loan Trust 2017-A (DRB 2017-A):

-- $42,000,000 Class A-1 rated AAA (sf)
-- $78,868,000 Class A-2A rated AAA (sf)
-- $153,282,000 Class A-2B rated AAA (sf)
-- $33,300,000 Class B rated A (high) (sf)

The finalized ratings are based on a review by DBRS of the following analytical considerations:

-- The transaction’s form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- The sequential pay structure.
-- The quality and credit characteristics of the student loan borrowers.
-- Structural features of the transaction that require the Class A Notes to enter into full turbo principal amortization if certain performance triggers are breached or if credit enhancement deteriorates.
-- Darien Rowayton Bank’s (DRB) capabilities with regards to originations and underwriting.
-- The ability of the Servicer to perform collections on the collateral pool and other required activities.
-- The legal structure and legal opinions that address the true sale of the student loans, the non-consolidation of the trust, that the trust has a valid first-priority security interest in the assets and the consistency with the DBRS “Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance” methodology.

The Notes are backed by loans originated through DRB’s private student loan refinancing program (Refinancing Loans). The floating-rate Class A-1 Notes are primarily secured by a group of floating-rate Refinancing Loans. The fixed-rate Class A-2A Notes and Class A-2B Notes (together, the Class A-2 Notes) are primarily secured by a group of fixed-rate Refinancing Loans. The Class B Notes are secured by both the floating-rate and fixed-rate Refinancing Loans.

Credit enhancement for DRB 2017-A consists of overcollateralization, a separate reserve account for the Class A-1 Notes and the Class A-2 Notes, a liquidity account for the Class B Notes, subordination provided by the Class B Notes for the benefit of the Class A Notes, excess spread and limited cross-collateralization.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is Rating U.S. Private Student Loan Securitizations, which can be found on dbrs.com under Methodologies.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process. DBRS had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities.

Please see the attached appendix for additional information regarding sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

The full report providing additional analytical detail is available by clicking on the link or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.