Morningstar DBRS Finalizes Provisional Credit Ratings on Ascent Career Funding Trust 2024-1

DBRS, Inc. (Morningstar DBRS) finalized its provisional credit ratings on the classes of notes (the Notes) issued by Ascent Career Funding Trust 2024-1 (Ascent 2024-1) as follows:

-- $40,509,000 Fixed Rate Class A Notes at A (low) (sf)
-- $7,448,000 Fixed Rate Class B Notes at BBB (low) (sf)
-- $7,120,000 Fixed Rate Class C Notes at BB (low) (sf)

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE/DESCRIPTION
The credit ratings on the Notes are based upon Morningstar DBRS' review of the following considerations:

1. The transaction's capital structure and the form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
   -- Overcollateralization (OC), subordination, the Reserve Account, and excess spread create credit enhancement levels that are commensurate with the proposed credit ratings.
   -- OC for each class of Notes will build to its respective target amount (Specified Overcollateralization Amount). Funds may not be released from the trust until the respective OC targets are reached.
   -- Transaction cash flows are sufficient to repay investors under all credit rating stress scenarios in accordance with the terms of the Ascent 2024-1 transaction documents.

2. The quality and credit characteristics of the consumer loan borrowers.

3. Structural features of the transaction that require the Notes to enter into full turbo principal amortization, if credit enhancement deteriorates.

4. The experience, origination, and underwriting capabilities of Ascent Funding, LLC (Ascent) and its bank partners.
   -- Morningstar DBRS has performed a satisfactory assessment of Ascent and its bank partners, DR Bank and Richland State Bank.

5. The ability of the Servicer and the Master Servicer to perform collections on the collateral pool and other required activities.
   -- Morningstar DBRS has performed an operational assessment of Launch Servicing, LLC and considers the entity to be an acceptable servicer.

6. The legal structure and presence of legal opinions that address the true sale of the consumer loans, the nonconsolidation of the trust, that the trust has a valid first-priority security interest in the assets, and the consistency with the Morningstar DBRS "Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance."

7. The transaction assumptions consider Morningstar DBRS' baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereign economies, available in its commentary, "Baseline Macroeconomic Scenarios for Rated Sovereigns June 2024 Update," published on June 28, 2024. These baseline macroeconomic scenarios replace Morningstar DBRS' moderate and adverse coronavirus pandemic scenarios, which were first published in April 2020.

Morningstar DBRS' credit rating on the securities referenced herein addresses the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated financial obligations for each of the rated classes of notes are the related Noteholders' Interest Distribution Amount, which includes unpaid interest on principal from prior distribution dates but excludes any interest on such interest, and the related Principal Amount.

Morningstar DBRS' credit rating does not address nonpayment risk associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the applicable transaction document(s) that are not financial obligations. The associated contractual payment obligation that is not a financial obligation for each of the rated classes of notes is the interest on any unpaid interest from the prior distribution date.

Morningstar DBRS' long-term credit ratings provide opinions on risk of default. Morningstar DBRS considers risk of default to be the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term obligation has been issued.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factor(s) that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in Credit Ratings (August 13, 2024) at https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437781.

Notes:

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

The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is Rating U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (Appendix I: U.S. Consumer Loan ABS Transactions; August 06, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437571.

Other methodologies referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release.

The credit ratings were initiated at the request of the rated entity.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the credit rating process for these credit rating actions.

Morningstar DBRS had access to the accounts, management, and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with these credit rating actions.

These are solicited credit ratings.

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

DBRS, Inc.
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New York, NY 10005 USA
Tel. +1 212 806-3277

The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

-- Rating U.S. Private Student Loan Securitizations (August 06, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437560

-- Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. ABS Originators and Servicers (August 06, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437545

-- Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance (April 15, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/431205

-- Interest Rate Stresses for U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (February 26, 2024), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/428623

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit https://dbrs.morningstar.com or contact us at info-DBRS@morningstar.com.