DBRS Morningstar Assigns Provisional Ratings to FREED ABS Trust 2022-1FP

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) assigned provisional ratings to the following classes of notes (the Notes) to be issued by FREED ABS Trust 2022-1FP (FREED 2022-1FP):

-- $113,020,000 Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $57,540,000 Class B Notes at AA (sf)
-- $26,030,000 Class C Notes at A (low) (sf)

The provisional ratings are based on DBRS Morningstar’s review of the following analytical considerations:

(1) The transaction assumptions consider DBRS Morningstar’s baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereign economies, available in its commentary Baseline Macroeconomic Scenarios For Rated Sovereigns December 2021 Update, published on December 9, 2021. These baseline macroeconomic scenarios replace DBRS Morningstar’s moderate and adverse COVID-19 pandemic scenarios, which were first published in April 2020. The baseline macroeconomic scenarios reflect the view that recent COVID-19 developments, particularly the new Omicron variant with subsequent restrictions, combined with rising inflation pressures in some regions, may dampen near-term growth expectations in coming months. However, DBRS Morningstar expects the baseline projections will continue to point to an ongoing, gradual recovery.

(2) The assumptions consider the baseline macroeconomic scenario outlined in the commentary.
-- DBRS Morningstar's projected losses include the assessment of the impact of the coronavirus. The DBRS Morningstar CNL assumption is 12.19% based on the Cutoff Date pool composition.
-- DBRS Morningstar incorporated in its analysis a hardship deferment stress as a result of an increase in utilization related to the impact of the coronavirus on borrowers. DBRS Morningstar stressed hardship deferments to test liquidity risk early in the life of the transaction’s cash flows.

(3) The transaction’s form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- Subordination, overcollateralization, amounts held in the Reserve Fund, and excess spread create credit enhancement levels that are commensurate with the proposed ratings.
-- Transaction cash flows are sufficient to repay investors under all AAA (sf), AA (sf), and A (low) (sf) stress scenarios in accordance with the terms of the FREED 2022-1FP transaction documents.

(4) Structural features of the transaction that require the Notes to enter into full turbo principal amortization if certain triggers are breached or if credit enhancement deteriorates.

(5) The experience, sourcing, and servicing capabilities of Freedom Financial Asset Management, LLC (FFAM).
(6) The experience, underwriting, and origination capabilities of Cross River Bank (CRB) and MetaBank, National Association (MetaBank) (together, the Partner Banks).

(7) The ability of WTNA to perform duties as a Backup Servicer and the ability of Firstmark to perform duties as a Backup Servicer Subcontractor.

(8) The annual percentage rate (APR) charged on the loans and the status of the Partner Banks as the true lenders.
-- All loans included in FREED 2022-1FP are originated by CRB, a New Jersey state-chartered FDIC-insured bank or MetaBank, a national bank.
-- Loans originated by CRB are all within the New Jersey state usury limit of 30.00%.
-- Loans originated by MetaBank are within the South Dakota state usury limit of 36.00%.
-- The weighted-average APR of the loans in the pool is 18.81%.
-- Loans may be in excess of individual state usury laws; however, the Partner Banks as the true lenders are able to export rates that preempt state usury rate caps.
-- Loans originated to borrowers in states with active litigation (Second Circuit (New York, Connecticut, Vermont), Colorado, West Virginia, and Maine) are excluded from the pool.
-- Loans originated by the Partner Banks are sold directly to third-party investors under loan purchase agreements.
-- Under the Loan Sale Agreement, FFAM is obligated to repurchase any loan if there is a breach of representation and warranty that materially and adversely affects the interests of the purchaser.

(9) The legal structure and expected legal opinions that will address the true sale of the personal loans, the nonconsolidation of the trust, and that the trust has a valid perfected security interest in the assets and consistency with the DBRS Morningstar “Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance.”

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. Structured Finance Transactions (October 20, 2021), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

The DBRS Morningstar Sovereign group releases baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereigns. DBRS Morningstar analysis considered impacts consistent with the baseline scenarios as set forth in the following report: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/384482/baseline-macroeconomic-scenarios-application-to-credit-ratings.

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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