DBRS Morningstar Assigns Ratings to Education Funding Trust 2018-A-GS

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) assigned ratings to the following classes of notes (collectively, the Notes) issued by Education Funding Trust 2018-A-GS (EFT 2018-A-GS):

-- $284,848,880 Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $33,266,000 Class B Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $33,266,000 Class C Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $33,266,000 Class D Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $384,646,880 Class AD* Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $351,380,880 Class AC* Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $318,114,880 Class AB* Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $99,798,000 Class BD* Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $66,532,000 Class BC* Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $66,532,000 Class CD* Notes at AAA (sf)

*Exchangeable Notes
Balances are as of the June 15, 2020, Payment Date.

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

-- The transaction assumptions consider DBRS Morningstar’s set of macroeconomic scenarios for select economies related to the coronavirus, available in its commentary “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: July Update,” published on July 22, 2020. DBRS Morningstar initially published macroeconomic scenarios on April 16, 2020, which were last updated on July 22, 2020, and are reflected in DBRS Morningstar’s rating analysis.

-- The assumptions consider the moderate macroeconomic scenario outlined in the commentary (the moderate scenario serving as the primary anchor for current ratings). The moderate scenario assumes some success in containment of the coronavirus within Q2 2020 and a gradual relaxation of restrictions, enabling most economies to begin a gradual economic recovery in Q3 2020.

-- The transaction’s form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- The full turbo and sequential-pay structure.
-- The quality and credit characteristics of the student loan borrowers.
-- The experience, underwriting, and origination capabilities of SoFi Lending Corp. (SoFi).
-- The ability of the Servicer to perform collections on the collateral pool and other required activities.
-- The legal structure and presence of legal opinions that address the true sale of the student loans, the nonconsolidation of the trust, that the trust has a valid first-priority security interest in the assets, and consistency with the DBRS Morningstar “Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance.”

The Notes are backed by a trust certificate representing 100% of the beneficial ownership interest in a grantor trust, the assets of which consist of loans originated through SoFi’s private student loan refinancing program (Refinancing Loans). The Notes are secured by a group of fixed-rate Refinancing Loans.

Credit enhancement for EFT 2018-A-GS consists of subordination provided by the Class B Notes, Class C Notes, Class D Notes, and Class E Notes for the benefit of the Class A Notes; subordination provided by the Class C Notes, Class D Notes, and Class E Notes for the benefit of the Class B Notes; subordination provided by the Class D Notes and Class E Notes for the benefit of the Class C Notes; subordination provided by the Class E Notes for the benefit of the Class D Notes; a reserve account for the Class A Notes, Class B Notes, Class C Notes, and Class D Notes; and excess spread.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

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

The principal methodology is Rating U.S. Private Student Loan Securitizations (November 20, 2019), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

For more information regarding the structured finance rating approach and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359905.

The rated entity or its related entities did 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.

The full report providing additional analytical detail is available by clicking on the link under Related Documents below or by contacting us at [email protected].

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

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