DBRS Morningstar Confirms Ridge Trust’s Sixth Amended and Restated Series A Note Liquidity Agreement at AAA (sf)

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed the rating of AAA (sf) on the Sixth Amended and Restated Series A Note Liquidity Agreement (the Liquidity) provided by a liquidity lender to Ridge Trust (the Trust) as support for the Trust’s Series A Notes (the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP); rated R-1 (high) (sf) by DBRS Morningstar). The Liquidity meets the global liquidity standard expected by DBRS Morningstar for the ABCP as outlined in Schedule A of DBRS Morningstar’s “Rating Canadian ABCP and Related Enhancement Features” methodology (March 2021).

RATING RATIONALE
The rating on the Liquidity is an opinion on the Trust’s capacity to meet its financial obligations to the liquidity lender in accordance with the terms of the Liquidity. As indicated in Schedule E of DBRS Morningstar’s “Rating Canadian ABCP and Related Enhancement Features” methodology, the rating on the Liquidity is based on the underlying transactions and programs funded by the Trust (the Assets) as the collections from those Assets will be the basis upon which the Trust will be in a position to meet its financial obligations under the Liquidity in the event that it draws on the Liquidity. All Assets currently have a transaction assessment (as defined in DBRS Morningstar’s “Legal Criteria for Canadian Structured Finance” methodology (June 2020)) of AAA (sf) as outlined in DBRS Morningstar’s Monthly Canadian ABCP Reports.

On March 17, 2021, the DBRS Morningstar Sovereigns group published its outlook on the impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on key economic indicators for the 2021–22 time frame. The initial outlook was published on April 16, 2020 and has been updated periodically since. For details, please see https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/375377. For the confirmed ratings, DBRS Morningstar considered impacts consistent with the moderate scenario in the referenced commentary in its analysis.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

The rating was assigned at the request of the liquidity lender.

Notes:
The principal methodology is Master Canadian Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (August 31, 2020), 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.

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 under Related Documents or by contacting us at [email protected].

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.

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

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