Student lender CommonBond closes largest securitisation yet

US online lender closes $231m securitisation with stellar ratings.

CommonBond, a major online lender in the US, has closed its latest securitisation of refinanced student loans. The $231m deal has received AA ratings from Moody’s and DBRS (Aa3 and AA respectively). These represent CommonBond’s highest ratings to date.

Perhaps the second largest online lender for students in the US, and a major rival to SoFi, CommonBond runs a prolific securitisation programme. The firm closed a $168m deal in October of last year, clinching what was then its highest rating: an A1 from Moody’s. It must be seen as a positive sign for the company that these ratings continue to improve.

CommonBond added in-school loans for undergraduates and graduates to go with its MBA student funding options in April, and in so doing claimed to have become the first lender in the US to offer a full suite of student loan solutions.

This latest $231m securitisation – which was more than three times oversubscribed – is also CommonBond’s largest to date. CommonBond and Goldman Sachs acted as co-sponsors, with Goldman serving as structuring agent, co-lead manager and book-runner. Barclays and Citi were co-lead managers and also served as book-runners, while Guggenheim Securities was also a co-manager.

“Our highest-rated and largest deal yet clearly reflects both the growing investor and customer demand for CommonBond’s products,” said CommonBond CEO David Klein (pictured). “By maintaining maniacal focus on our category, and delivering the best possible experience for our members, we’ve been able to consistently provide investors with superior credit quality assets. We’re pleased to welcome a standout group of investors to this transaction. And as a programmatic issuer, we look forward to continuing to bring opportunities to market for investors over time.”