CommonBond, a marketplace lending platform specialising in student debt, has closed a $168m securitisation of refinanced student loans. The securitisation – CommonBond’s largest to date – was said to be oversubscribed by “top investors”. The senior notes were rated A1 and AA (low) by Moody’s and DBRS respectively, the highest ratings in the CommonBond's history.
Barclays and Goldman Sachs served as joint-lead managers and bookrunners on the deal, with Barclays also serving as structuring agent, and Deutsche Bank acting as co-manager.
This is CommonBond’s third securitisation to date. The platform closed a $150m securitisation in April of this year – a deal that was rated A (high) by DBRS. Alongside fellow student lender SoFi,CommonBond has blazed a trail in the securitisation space. The company’s inaugural securitisation in June 2015 was the first deal in the marketplace lending space to clinch an investment grade rating from Moody’s.
“CommonBond has built a sterling reputation in the capital markets due to our meticulous, data-driven underwriting,” said Morgan Edwards, chief financial officer of CommonBond. “As with our previous deals, this securitization was oversubscribed among name-brand investors, and the A1/AA (low) ratings from Moody’s and DBRS are a further testament to the quality of CommonBond’s portfolio. We continue to be excited to see new investors participate with each transaction we bring to the market and expect to see the diversity of investors increase with subsequent deals.”
CommonBond bucked an industry trend in July by closing a $30m Series C up-round, which was led by Neuberger Berman Private Equity – the asset management firm with around $30bn under management. In addition to the equity raise, CommonBond also secured $300m in capital, while announcing the strategic acquisition of personal finance platform Gradible.
