DBRS Morningstar Takes Rating Actions on Earnest Student Loan Program 2016-A LLC

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) took rating actions on Earnest Student Loan Program 2016-A LLC as follows:

-- Class A-1 Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class A-2 Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)

Both the confirmation and the upgrade of the ratings is based on DBRS Morningstar’s review of the following analytical considerations:

-- Transaction capital structure, current ratings and form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- The transaction parties’ capabilities with regard to origination, underwriting and servicing.
-- The credit quality of the collateral pool and historical performance as of October 2019.
-- The transaction is a securitization of U.S. student loans. The deal benefits from credit enhancement consisting of a reserve account. The combined collateral pool factor is 18.46%. The Class A-1, Class A-2 and Class B Note factors are 17.79%, 17.79% and 18.92%, respectively. Credit enhancement currently stands at 22.17% for Class A-1 and Class A-2 Notes, and 10.08% for the Class B Notes. Levels of deferment/forbearance is 2.5%. Cumulative net losses are 0.15%.

Notes:
The principal methodology is DBRS Master U.S. ABS Surveillance Methodology, which can be found on dbrs.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

The rated entity or its related entities did not participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

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

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed ratings:

The last rating action on this transaction took place on April 18, 2019, when the ratings were confirmed and upgraded.

For further information on DBRS historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml.

Lead Analyst: Jayce Fox, Senior Vice President, U.S. ABS Surveillance – Global Structured Finance
Rating Committee Chair: Chris D’Onofrio, Managing Director, Head of U.S. ABS
Initial Rating Date: January 27, 2016

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrs.com or contact us at [email protected].

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