Laurel Road is sponsoring its first issuance of bonds backed by private student-loan originations in more than a year.
The $250.2 million Laurel Road Prime Student Loan Trust 2020-A deal features a pool of 2,963 loans with an average principal balance of $84,426 and a weighted average interest rate of 4.46%. The loans have an average remaining term of 126 months.
The loans, which are not federally guaranteed, are refinancings of student-loan debt held by prime borrowers primarily with advanced medical degrees. The borrowers have a weighted average FICO of 776 and gross income of $196,694.
S&P Global Ratings and DBRS Morningstar have assigned preliminary triple-A ratings to two tranches of notes in the transaction: an $86 million Class A-1FX bond offering and a $155.33 million Class A-2FX tranche.
Also being marketed is a $7.04 million Class B-FX tranche with early AA ratings from DBRS Morningstar.
S&P has a base-case default rate assumption of 2.4%, higher than Laurel Road’s prior transaction due to uncertainties on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
