Kroll Bond Rating Agency

Founded in the wake of the global financial crisis, KBRA has issued more than 51,000 ratings representing almost $3 trillion in rated issuance since 2010.

Kroll's $2 million settlement with the SEC over failing to adhere to credit-rating standards for CMBS and CLO bonds are fueling concerns that rosy credit grades are masking deeper structural problems with the securities exposed by COVID-19 related stresses, say critics.

The Dallas-based chain was forced to advance additional principal payments on its asset-backed notes after trailing 12-month sales fell below $1.5B.

Driven Brands is preparing a $175 million asset-backed securities deal that will provide investors with exposure to a relatively safe industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

Total Engine Asset Management, or TEAM, is sponsoring an ABS totaling $$256.98 million backed by leases and asset values of 30 engines on lease (or contracted to lease) to 13 airlines in 11 countries.

Mosaic Solar Loan Trust 2019-2 is bringing to market $208 million in asset-backed securities that are secured by residential solar consumer loans.

The decline in the share of "cured" delinquent loans is a potential signal for increased securitization losses in the months to come.

Revisions to S&P's CLO ratings methadology and Kroll's launch into rating European CLOs could challenge Moody's as the first choice for managers across the pond.

The two agencies offer fundamentally different views of the level of risk in ABS issuances by Avant, Prosper Marketplace, LendingClub and other online lenders.

The ratings agency cautions that marketplace lenders' efforts to tighten credit standards during a "solid" macroeconomic environment underscore the volatility their portfolios might face in a downturn.

A large portion of the collateral for the $1.06 billion IH-2018-SFR1 is being rolled over from two transactions originally issued in 2015.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is marketing its fifth transaction financing local residential solar-panel installations; all of the notes carry an A rating from Kroll.

The credit quality of the collateral appears to have improved, but investor protections have also decreased; as a result, Kroll is only assigning an 'A' to the senior tranche of notes.

Varde VMC Lender, a Minneapolis firm specializing in distressed commercial real estate, has branched out to financing offices and apartment buildings being upgraded or repurposed.

The Salt Lake City-based lender homes in on troubled borrowers whose subprime status is primarily tied to a recent bankruptcy protection filing.

Proceeds from the first jet-lease securitization of 2018 will be used to acquire 24 widebody and narrowbody planes contracted to 16 airlines in 14 countries.

The lender's first deal of the year is sized at $750 million, in line with its two prior offerings, but the amount of collateral has been significantly increased, to over $1 billion.

The Alpharetta, Ga.-based manager of Hilton, InterContinental, Marriott and other branded hotels recently obtained a $600 million mortgage from three banks: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

The Dan Gilbert-controlled skyscraper has apportioned $70M of a $102M whole-loan refinancing to the Wells conduit.

The new deal is smaller, at $130.1 million, and the collateral is almost entirely of PV systems financed through third-party loan agreements.