Fitch Ratings expects to rate
Proceeds from the issuance are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of outstanding unsecured debt.
Key Rating Drivers
The unsecured debt is expected to rank pari passu with
Fitch does not expect the debt issuance to have a meaningful impact on the company's leverage profile as proceeds are expected to refinance upcoming unsecured debt maturities.
Rating constraints include
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade
An increase in
A decrease in the unsecured debt mix representing less than 10% of the company's non-FFELP funding;
Significant deterioration in credit performance of its PSL portfolio leading to materially weaker operating results;
An increase in shareholder distributions above
An adverse outcome in the pending
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade
Sustainable growth in core earnings from successful execution on new loan originations and BP segment revenues;
Strong credit performance on the private education loan refi portfolio through periods of economic stress;
A meaningful reduction in leverage below 8.0x;
A demonstrated ability to access the unsecured debt market on economic terms.
DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS
The unsecured debt ranks pari passu with
DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES
The unsecured debt rating is equalized with the long-term IDR and is expected to move in tandem. However, a meaningful increase in the proportion of secured funding or reduction of the unencumbered asset pool could result in the unsecured debt rating being notched down below the IDR.
Date of Relevant Committee
REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING
The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.
ESG Considerations
The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.
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