Morningstar DBRS Confirms Credit Ratings on Ascent Education Funding Trust 2024-A Transaction

DBRS, Inc. (Morningstar DBRS) confirmed its credit ratings on all classes of securities included in Ascent Education Funding Trust 2024-A Transaction.

The credit rating confirmations are based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Transaction capital structure, current credit ratings, and sufficient credit enhancement levels.

-- Credit enhancement is in the form of overcollateralization (OC), reserve accounts, and excess spread with senior notes benefiting from subordination of junior notes.

-- While losses have been coming in higher than anticipated, mainly due to the inclusion of delinquent loans at closing which eventually rolled over and defaulted. Credit enhancement has increased since closing, across all tranches, sufficient to support the Morningstar DBRS-expected default and loss severity assumptions under various stress scenarios.

-- The transaction parties' capabilities with respect to origination, underwriting, and servicing.

-- The transaction assumptions consider Morningstar DBRS' baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereign economies, available in its commentary, "Baseline Macroeconomic Scenarios for Rated Sovereigns March 2025 Update," published on March 26, 2025. These baseline macroeconomic scenarios replace Morningstar DBRS' moderate and adverse coronavirus pandemic scenarios, which were first published in April 2020.

Morningstar DBRS' credit ratings on the applicable classes address the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents. Where applicable, a description of these financial obligations can be found in the transactions' respective press releases at issuance.

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) https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/437781.

Notes:
The principal methodology applicable to the credit ratings is Morningstar DBRS Master U.S. ABS Surveillance (April 10, 2025) https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/451793.

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.

For more information on Morningstar DBRS' policy regarding the solicitation status of credit ratings, please refer to the Credit Ratings Global Policy, which can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Understanding Ratings section of the website: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/understanding-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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The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

Operational Risk Assessment for U.S. ABS Originators and Servicers (March 26, 2025)
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/450709

Interest Rate Stresses for U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (March 27, 2025)
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/450750

Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance (December 3, 2024)
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/444064

Rating U.S. Structured Finance Transactions (March 10, 2025)
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/449616

Rating U.S. Private Student Loan Securitizations (November 11, 2024)
https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/442835

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