Student loan ABS

The $748 million Navient Student Loan Trust 2019-1 looks a lot like the four FFELP deals the sponsor completed in 2018; it is backed by a mix of rehab (19.6%) and non-rehab (80.4%) loans.

This time, the $98.4 million of underlying collateral was originated by before the financial crisis by Citibank via its former student lending affiliate, the Student Loan Corp.

Many banks remain wary of student loans given the government's dominance in the market, but some fintechs see untapped potential.

It's the first time the refinance student lender used this feature to lock in current funding costs, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Calling a $149 million transaction and securitizing the notes allows Goal Structured Solutions to benefit from a reduction in spreads since 2016.

Starting next year, the servicing giant plans to go after some of SLM Corp.'s best borrowers – at least with refinance student loans.

Like recent Federal Education Loan Program securitizations from Nelnet and Navient, it has meaningful exposure to rehabbed loans and loans in income-based repayment plans.

Refinance loans account for just 21% of the collateral, and even among those borrowers, just under half have advanced degrees.

A two-year-old lawsuit by the CFPB may be languishing, but nine members of the Teachers Federation of America sued the student loan servicing giant alleging that it misled borrowers in public service professions in order to line its pockets.

The report from an advocacy group that focuses on college affordability says that schools need to do a better job of educating students about their eligibility for federal loans, which typically carry lower interest rates than loans from banks and other private-sector lenders.