DBRS Morningstar Assigns Provisional Ratings to SoFi Professional Loan Program 2021-A Trust

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) assigned provisional ratings to the following class of notes (the Class A Notes) to be issued by SoFi Professional Loan Program 2021-A Trust (SoFi 2021-A):

-- $181,920,000 Class A-FX Notes at AAA (sf)

The provisional ratings are based on a review by DBRS Morningstar of the following analytical considerations:
-- The transaction’s assumptions consider DBRS Morningstar’s set of macroeconomic scenarios for select economies related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), available in its commentary “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: March 2021 Update,” published on March 17, 2021. DBRS Morningstar initially published macroeconomic scenarios on April 16, 2020, which have been regularly updated. The scenarios were last updated on March 17, 2021, and are reflected in DBRS Morningstar’s rating analysis.
-- The assumptions consider the moderate macroeconomic scenario outlined in the commentary, with the moderate scenario serving as the primary anchor for current ratings. The moderate scenario remains predicated on a more rapid return of confidence and a steady recovery in 2021.
-- The transaction’s form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- 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.
-- 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 expected presence of legal opinions that will 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 Class A Notes will be 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 Class A Notes will be secured by a group of fixed-rate Refinancing Loans.

Credit enhancement for the Class A Notes will consist of overcollateralization, a reserve account and excess spread.

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

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

The principal methodology is Rating U.S. Private Student Loan Securitizations (November 5, 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.

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.

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

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