DEFINED TERMS
In later sections, we use a few terms that we define in the Glossary at the end of this free‑writing prospectus. These terms appear in bold face when they are first used and in initial capital letters in all cases.
General
The SLM Student Loan Trust 2006-5 (the “trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust formed under, and is currently operating pursuant to, a trust agreement dated as of March 9, 2006 between the depositor and the eligible lender trustee. The short-form trust agreement was amended on the closing date pursuant to an amended and restated trust agreement dated as of June 21, 2006, among the depositor, the eligible lender trustee and the indenture trustee.
The trust has not engaged and will not engage in any activity other than:
| • | acquiring, holding and managing the trust student loans and the other assets of the trust and related proceeds; |
| • | making payments on the notes; |
| • | if applicable, entering into swap agreements from time to time with respect to the reset rate notes and making the required payments set forth therein; |
| • | entering into any potential future interest rate cap agreements at the direction of the administrator from time to time and making the payments, including any upfront payments, required thereunder; and |
| • | engaging in other activities that are necessary, suitable or convenient to accomplish, or are incidental to, the foregoing. |
Other than issuing the notes, the trust is not permitted to borrow money or make loans to other persons. The permitted activities of the trust may be amended only with the consent of a majority of the noteholders voting separately; however, the trust agreement may be modified without noteholder consent if an opinion of counsel is provided to the effect that such proposed revisions would not adversely affect in any material respect the interests of any noteholder whose written consent has not been obtained.
The trust was initially capitalized with nominal equity of $100, excluding amounts that were deposited into the reserve account, the capitalized interest account, the supplemental purchase account, the add-on consolidation loan account and the collection account by the trust on the closing date. The proceeds from the original sale of the notes were used by the eligible lender trustee to make the initial deposits into the reserve account, the capitalized interest account, the supplemental purchase account, the add-on consolidation loan account and the collection account, and to purchase, on behalf of the trust, the initial trust student loans. The trust purchased the initial trust student loans from the depositor under a sale agreement dated as of June 21, 2006, among the depositor, the trust and the eligible lender trustee. The depositor used the net proceeds it received from the sale of the initial trust student loans to pay the sellers the respective purchase prices for the initial trust student loans acquired from them under the purchase agreements dated June 21, 2006.
The property of the trust consists of:
| • | the pool of trust student loans, legal title to which is held by the eligible lender trustee on behalf of the trust; |
| • | all funds collected on trust student loans, including any special allowance payments and interest subsidy payments, on or after the applicable cutoff date; |
| • | all moneys and investments from time to time on deposit in the Trust Accounts; |
| • | if applicable, its rights under any and all swap agreements entered into from time to time with respect to a class of reset rate notes and the related documents; |
| • | if applicable, its rights under any potential future interest rate cap agreement entered into from time to time and the related documents; |
| • | its rights under the transfer and servicing agreements, including the right to require VG Funding (or Navient Solutions, LLC, as servicer, acting on its behalf), Navient CFC, the depositor or the servicer to repurchase trust student loans from it or to substitute student loans under certain conditions; and |
| • | its rights under the guarantee agreements with guarantors. |
The trust and its assets (other than the trust student loans) are administered by the administrator pursuant to the administration agreement. The servicer is responsible for the servicing and administration of the trust student loans pursuant to the servicing agreement. See “Servicing and Administration” in this free‑writing prospectus.
The trust does not and will not own any other assets. The fiscal year of the trust is a calendar year.
The notes represent indebtedness of the trust secured by its assets. The excess distribution certificate represents the beneficial ownership interest of the trust, which is a Delaware statutory trust and a separate legal person under Delaware law. To facilitate servicing and to minimize administrative burden and expense, the servicer retains possession of the promissory notes and other documents related to the student loans as custodian for the trust and the eligible lender trustee.
The sections “The Transfer Agreements,” “Servicing and Administration” and “Summary of Note Terms—The Notes” in this free-writing prospectus contain descriptions of the material provisions of the transaction agreements.
The notes are secured by the property of the trust. The collection account, the reserve account, any accumulation account, any supplemental interest account, any investment premium purchase account, any investment reserve account and any currency accounts will be maintained in the name of the indenture trustee for the benefit of the noteholders. The remarketing fee account will be maintained in the name of the indenture trustee for the benefit of the remarketing agent and the reset rate noteholders. To facilitate servicing and to minimize administrative burden and expense, the servicer will act as custodian of the promissory notes representing the trust student loans and other related documents.
The trust’s principal offices are in New York, New York, in care of Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as successor eligible lender trustee, at its address shown below under “—Eligible Lender Trustee”.
Capitalization of the Trust
The following table illustrates the capitalization of the trust as of the July 2024 distribution date:
Floating Rate Class A‑1 Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | $ | 0.00 | |
Floating Rate Class A‑2 Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | | 0.00 | |
Floating Rate Class A‑3 Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | | 0.00 | |
Floating Rate Class A-4 Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | | 0.00 | |
Floating Rate Class A‑5 Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | | 0.00 | |
Floating Rate Class A-6A Student Loan-Backed Notes | | | 200,484,217.25 | |
Reset Rate Class A-6B Student Loan-Backed Notes | | | 104,706,260.03 | |
Reset Rate Class A-6C Student Loan-Backed Notes | | | 104,706,260.03 | |
Floating Rate Class B Student Loan‑Backed Notes | | | 32,748,991.96 | |
Initial Equity | | | | |
Total | | | | |
Eligible Lender Trustee
The successor eligible lender trustee is Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (“DBTCA”). DBTCA is a banking corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York. Its address is 1761 East St. Andrew Place, Santa Ana, CA 92705. DBTCA has been, and currently is, serving as eligible lender trustee for numerous securitization transactions and programs involving pools of student loan receivables.
DBTCA has provided the information in the prior paragraph. Other than the prior paragraph, DBTCA has not participated in the preparation of, and is not responsible for, any other information contained in this free-writing prospectus.
The initial eligible lender trustee was Chase Bank USA, National Association until its responsibilities were assigned to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association (“BNYMTC”) in 2007. Effective as of May 15, 2012, BNYMTC resigned from such capacity, and DBTCA was assigned such capacity.
The eligible lender trustee holds on behalf of the trust legal title to all the trust student loans acquired under the sale agreement. The eligible lender trustee, on behalf of the trust, has entered into separate guarantee agreements with each of the guaranty agencies described in this free-writing prospectus with respect to the trust student loans. The eligible lender trustee qualifies as an eligible lender and the holder of the trust student loans for all purposes under the Higher Education Act and the guarantee agreements. Failure of the trust student loans to be owned by an eligible lender would result in the loss of guarantor and Department of Education payments on the trust student loans. See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program—Eligible Lenders, Students and Educational Institutions” in this free-writing prospectus.
The eligible lender trustee acts on behalf of the excess distribution certificateholder and represents and exercises the rights and interests of the excess distribution certificateholder under the trust agreement. Except as specifically delegated to the administrator in the administration agreement, the eligible lender trustee will also execute and deliver all agreements required to be entered into on behalf of the trust.
The liability of the eligible lender trustee in connection with the issuance and sale of the notes will consist solely of the express obligations specified in the trust agreement and sale agreement. The eligible lender trustee is not personally liable for any actions or omissions that were not the result of its own bad faith, willful misconduct or negligence. The eligible lender trustee is entitled to be indemnified by the administrator for any loss, liability or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) incurred by it in connection with the performance of its duties under the indenture and the other transaction documents (including any supplemental indenture and/or amended administration agreement). See “Description of the Notes,” “The Transfer Agreements” and “Servicing and Administration” in this free-writing prospectus. Affiliates of the depositor maintain banking relations with the eligible lender trustee.
The eligible lender trustee may resign at any time. The administrator may also remove the eligible lender trustee if it becomes insolvent or ceases to be eligible to continue as eligible lender trustee. In the event of such a resignation or removal, the administrator will appoint a successor. The resignation or removal of the eligible lender trustee and the appointment of a successor will become effective only when a successor accepts its appointment. To the extent expenses incurred in connection with the replacement of the eligible lender trustee are not paid by the successor trustee, the depositor will be responsible for the payment of such expenses.
Indenture Trustee and Paying Agent
The trust issued the notes under an indenture dated as of June 1, 2006. Under the indenture, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas was the initial indenture trustee for the benefit of and to protect the interests of the noteholders and acts as paying agent for the notes. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, a national banking association, is the successor indenture trustee. Its address is 1761 E. Saint Andrew Place, Santa Ana, California 92705. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company has acted as indenture trustee on numerous asset-backed securities transactions involving pools of student loans, and has worked with its affiliate Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas in connection with numerous asset-backed securities transactions involving federally-insured and private credit student loans that were sponsored by Navient Solutions, LLC.
Affiliates of the depositor maintain customary banking relations on arms-length terms with the indenture trustee.
The indenture trustee acts on behalf of the noteholders and represents their interests in the exercise of their rights under the indenture.
To the extent expenses incurred in connection with the replacement of an indenture trustee are not paid by the indenture trustee that is being replaced, the depositor will be responsible for the payment of such expenses.
The indenture trustee will not be personally liable for any actions or omissions that were not the result of its own bad faith, willful misconduct or negligence. The indenture trustee is entitled to be indemnified by the administrator (at the direction of the trust) for any loss, liability or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) incurred by it in connection with the performance of its duties under the indenture and the other transaction documents. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, and in the event the administrator fails to reimburse the indenture trustee, the indenture trustee is entitled to receive all such amounts owed from cashflow on the trust student loans prior to any amounts being distributed to the noteholders.
VG Funding LLC
VG Funding is a limited liability company whose sole member is Navient CFC. It was formed in Delaware on February 3, 2000. VG Funding is a limited purpose, bankruptcy remote entity formed to purchase education loans, whether originated under the FFELP loan program or other private credit loan programs, for re-sale in various securitization transactions. Navient Solutions, LLC services all loans owned by VG Funding. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (as successor in interest to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association, formerly known as The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), acts as successor interim eligible lender trustee on behalf of VG Funding.
A successful remarketing of the class A-6B and class A-6C notes will not result in any proceeds to the trust. Rather all proceeds from the remarketing will be used to purchase tendered class A-6B and class A-6C notes from existing class A-6B and class A-6C noteholders at par.
The trust used the original net proceeds from the sale of the notes to make the initial deposits to the reserve account, the supplemental purchase account, the add-on consolidation loan account, the collection account and the capitalized interest account and to purchase the initial trust student loans from the depositor on the closing date under the sale agreement. The depositor then used the proceeds paid to the depositor by the trust to pay to the sellers the respective purchase prices for the initial trust student loans purchased by the depositor.
AFFILIATIONS AND RELATIONS
Navient Funding, LLC, as depositor, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navient Credit Finance Corporation, a seller, and is an affiliate of Navient Solutions, LLC, the sponsor, servicer and administrator. Navient Solutions, LLC and Navient Credit Finance Corporation are each a wholly owned subsidiary of Navient Corporation.
None of the depositor, sponsor, the issuing entity or any of their affiliates have (and have not within the past two years) entered into any business relationship, agreement, arrangement, transaction or understanding with the initial purchasers, eligible lender trustee or indenture trustee, that would be material to an investor’s understanding of the notes and that is outside the ordinary course of business or is on terms other than would be obtained in an arm’s length transaction with an unrelated third party.
Navient Funding, LLC (referred to herein as “Navient Funding”) is the depositor. Navient Credit Finance Corporation, which together with its successors in interest we sometimes refer to as Navient CFC in this free-writing prospectus, is the sole member of Navient Funding. It became the sole member of the depositor on June 29, 2004. Prior to that date, the Student Loan Marketing Association, which was liquidated on December 29, 2004, was the depositor’s sole member. The depositor was incorporated in Delaware as SLM Funding Corporation on July 25, 1995, was converted to a limited liability company on December 31, 2002 and changed its name to Navient Funding, LLC on May 2, 2014.
The depositor has only limited purposes, which include purchasing student loans from Navient CFC, transferring the student loans to the trusts and other incidental and related activities. Its principal executive offices are at 13865 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, Virginia 20171. Its telephone number is (703) 810-3000.
The depositor has been created as a separate, limited-purpose subsidiary with its own limited liability company identity. The depositor’s operating agreement contains limitations including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of its business; and |
| • | a restriction on its ability to commence a voluntary case or proceeding under any insolvency law without the unanimous affirmative vote of all of its directors. |
Among other things, the depositor will maintain its separate limited liability company identity by:
| • | maintaining records and books of accounts separate from those of its sole member; |
| • | refraining from commingling its assets with the assets of its sole member; and |
| • | refraining from holding itself out as having agreed to pay, or being liable for, the debts of its sole member. |
Each transaction agreement also contains “non-petition” covenants to prevent the commencement of any bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against the depositor and/or the issuing entity, as applicable, by any of the transaction parties or by the noteholders.
The transactions described in this free-writing prospectus were structured to assure that each transfer of the student loans by its sole member or the sellers to the depositor and by the depositor to the trust constituted a “true sale” of the student loans. If the transfer constituted a “true sale,” the student loans and related proceeds would not be property of the sellers or the depositor should any of them become subject to any insolvency law. Although each of the sellers, the depositor and the trust expressed its intent to treat the conveyance of the trust student loans as a sale, each of the sellers and the depositor also granted to its transferee a backup security interest in the trust student loans. This security interest is intended to protect the interests of the noteholders if a bankruptcy court were to characterize a seller’s or the depositor’s transfer of the loans as a borrowing by such seller or the depositor secured by a pledge of the trust student loans. In the event that a bankruptcy court did characterize the transaction as a borrowing by a seller or the depositor, that borrowing would be secured by the trust student loans in which such seller or the depositor granted a security interest to the eligible lender trustee. Each seller and the depositor have agreed to take those actions that are necessary to maintain the security interest granted to the eligible lender trustee, as a first priority, perfected security interest in the trust student loans, including the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements, if necessary.
Upon the issuance of notes, the depositor received the advice of counsel that, subject to various facts, assumptions and qualifications, the transfer of the student loans by the sellers to the depositor and by the depositor to the trust would be characterized as “true sales” and the student loans and related proceeds would not be property of the sellers or the depositor under the insolvency laws.
Each of the sellers and the depositor also represented and warranted that each sale of trust student loans by it was a valid sale of those loans. In addition, the depositor, the eligible lender trustee and the trust treated the conveyance of the trust student loans as a sale for all purposes other than accounting and tax purposes. The depositor and each seller will take all actions that are required so the eligible lender trustee, will be treated as the legal owner of the trust student loans.
The depositor’s obligations after issuance of the notes included the sale of additional trust student loans to the trust to be purchased with amounts on deposit in the supplemental purchase account and/or the delivery of certain related documents and instruments, repurchasing or substituting trust student loans in the event of certain breaches of representations or warranties made by the depositor, providing tax-related information to the eligible lender trustee, and maintaining the indenture trustee’s first priority perfected security interest in, or the trust’s (and eligible lender trustee’s) ownership of, the assets of the trust.
Effective April 30, 2014, pursuant to a plan approved by its board of directors, SLM Corporation (“Legacy SLM”), effected the strategic separation of its loan management, servicing and asset recovery business, now known as Navient Corporation (“Navient”), from its consumer banking business (referred to as “Sallie Mae Bank”). Sallie Mae Bank continues to operate under the Sallie Mae brand.
Navient began trading on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol “NAVI” on May 1, 2014. Navient is an independent company, and Sallie Mae Bank retains a de minimis interest in Navient. Sallie Mae Bank and Navient have entered into a separation and distribution agreement and various other agreements related to the spin-off and the post spin-off relationship of the two companies.
Navient’s education loan management business includes Legacy SLM’s portfolios of FFELP loans (other than any FFELP loans held by Sallie Mae Bank at the time of separation), other FFELP loans and private education loans (that were either originated by Legacy SLM affiliates or, prior to the separation from Sallie Mae Bank or by Navient’s affiliate, Earnest Operations, LLC, or acquired from affiliated or unaffiliated sellers of private education loans), other interest-earning assets, an education loan servicing platform that services FFELP and private education loans, including, the FFELP and private education loans to be owned by each issuing entity and loans held by third parties, and related collection activities on those loans. The sellers, the depositor, the servicer, the administrator and each issuing entity associated with Legacy SLM’s securitization program have remained subsidiaries of Navient. The servicer while remaining a subsidiary of Navient has contributed some of its former assets and liabilities associated with its private education loan servicing business to a subsidiary of Sallie Mae Bank.
Navient has been named as defendant in a number of putative class action and other cases alleging violations of various state and federal consumer protection laws including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), in adversarial proceedings under the United States Bankruptcy Code, and various state consumer protection laws.
At this point in time, Navient is unable to anticipate the timing of a resolution or the impact that these legal proceedings may have on its consolidated financial position, liquidity, results of operation or cash flows. As a result, it is not possible at this time to estimate a range of potential exposure, if any, for amounts that may be payable in connection with these matters and loss contingency accruals have not been established. It is possible that an adverse ruling or rulings may have a material adverse impact on Navient, Navient Solutions and/or their affiliates or on the financial ability of the depositor, the servicer or a seller to fulfill an obligation to purchase or repurchase trust student loans in connection with a breach of representation, warranty or covenant.
In January 2017, the CFPB and the Attorneys General for the State of Illinois and the State of Washington initiated civil actions naming Navient and several of its subsidiaries (including Navient Solutions) as defendants alleging violations of certain Federal and State consumer protection statutes, including the CFPA, the FCRA, the FDCPA and various state consumer protection laws. The Attorneys General for the States of Pennsylvania, California, Mississippi, and New Jersey also initiated actions against Navient and certain subsidiaries alleging violations of various state and federal consumer protection laws based upon similar alleged acts or failures to act. In addition to these matters, a number of lawsuits have been filed by nongovernmental parties or, in the future, may be filed by additional governmental or nongovernmental parties seeking damages or other remedies related to similar issues raised by the CFPB and the State Attorneys General. In January 2022, Navient entered into a series of Consent Judgment and Orders (the “Agreements”) with 40 State Attorneys General to resolve all matters in dispute related to the State Attorneys General cases as well as the related investigations, subpoenas, civil investigative demands and inquiries from various other state regulators.
Navient reached an agreement to settle the CFPB lawsuit in September 2024. As part of the settlement, Navient agreed to pay $120 million, which includes a $100 million payment that will be used by the CFPB to make payments to certain borrowers as determined by the CFPB, in addition to a $20 million penalty. Navient had already established a reserve of $105 million as of June 30, 2024 for settlement costs associated with the CFPB lawsuit. The settlement also prohibits Navient from servicing federal student loans (other than in the role as master servicer of Navient’s FFELP portfolio), and further prohibits Navient from purchasing any additional FFELP loan portfolios. These restrictions are not expected to have a material impact on Navient’s business as Navient had already exited its Direct loan servicing contract with the Department of Education in 2021, and entered into an agreement with MOHELA to service Navient’s FFELP portfolio in May 2024. It is not anticipated that the other requirements of the settlement will impact Navient’s go-forward business plans or operations.
THE SPONSOR, SERVICER, ADMINISTRATOR AND SUBSERVICERS
Navient Solutions, LLC acts as the sponsor of Navient’s student loan securitization program. Navient Solutions, LLC, which together with its successors in interest we sometimes refer to as Navient Solutions in this free-writing prospectus, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navient and acts as the principal management company for most of Navient’s business activities. Navient Solutions’ servicing division manages and operates the loan servicing functions for Navient and its affiliates. Navient Solutions acts as administrator for trusts sponsored by the depositor and its affiliates. As administrator, Navient Solutions may delegate or subcontract its duties as administrator, but no delegation or subcontract will relieve Navient Solutions of its liability under the administration agreement. Effective as of December 31, 2003, Sallie Mae, Inc. merged with Sallie Mae Servicing L.P. Sallie Mae, Inc. was the surviving entity and succeeded to all of the rights and obligations of Sallie Mae Servicing L.P. Sallie Mae, Inc. changed its name to Navient Solutions, Inc. on May 1, 2014. Effective as of January 31, 2017, Navient Solutions, Inc. became a limited liability company and changed its name to Navient Solutions, LLC. Navient Solutions is a Delaware limited liability company and its principal executive offices are at 13865 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, Virginia 20171. Its telephone number is (703) 810‑3000.
Navient Solutions is an affiliate of Navient and the depositor. For information on Navient Corporation, including recent developments, see “Navient Corporation” in this free-writing prospectus.
Navient Solutions is the named servicer for the vast majority of student loans owned by Navient and its affiliates.
Navient Solutions (in its various forms) has serviced student loans for over 20 years. Navient Solutions itself, and as the assignee of the Student Loan Marketing Association (sometimes referred to as “SLMA”), has been the sponsor of Legacy SLM’s securitization program since it sponsored its first student loan securitization in 1995, called Sallie Mae Student Loan Trust 1995‑1.
In July 2024, Navient Corporation transitioned its student loan servicing to the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (“MOHELA”), a leading provider of student loan servicing for government and commercial enterprises with over 40 years of experience in the student loan servicing industry. MOHELA acts as a subservicer to service substantially all of the loan servicing functions of Navient Solutions as servicer. As the named servicer, Navient Solutions may delegate or subcontract its duties as servicer, but no delegation or subcontract will relieve Navient Solutions of its liability under the servicing agreement.
MOHELA was established in 1981 pursuant to the Higher Education Loan Authority Act, Title XI, Chapter 173, Section 173.350 to 173.445 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, inclusive, as amended.
MOHELA is one of the largest student loan servicers in the country. MOHELA provides private student loan servicing for multiple organizations as well as private loans that it owns. MOHELA is also a major servicer of direct loans for the U.S. Department of Education, having been awarded a servicing contract as a not for profit (NFP) servicer in September 2011. Further, MOHELA provides student loan servicing for federal FFELP loans that it owns and for those owned by third parties.
As of September 30, 2024, MOHELA was servicing $73 billion in third party lender-owned private loans representing 2,311,957 borrowers and $103 million in MOHELA-owned private loans representing 4,238 borrowers. In addition to its private loan servicing, MOHELA was also servicing $307 billion in federal direct loans representing 6,790,500 borrowers and $526 million in FFELP loans representing 27,326 borrowers as of September 30, 2024.
Part of MOHELA’s private loan experience includes servicing private loans in its own private loan servicing program in an amount of over $103 million for over 4,200 borrowers as of September 30, 2024. In addition, MOHELA services private loans made by a related entity in a program that involves interest-free loans for qualifying Missouri students. That program had approximately $31 million in loans outstanding with 6,514 borrowers in repayment as of September 30, 2024.
MOHELA services both private loans and federal direct loans pursuant to a license of the computer servicing system of Fiserv Solutions, LLC and it also services certain private and other loans pursuant to a license of the computer servicing system of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.
In the normal course of business, MOHELA is subject to various claims, lawsuits and other actions. Most of these matters involve claims by borrowers alleging the violation of laws in connection with servicing or collection activities as to student loans. Also in the normal course of business, it is common for MOHELA to receive information and document requests from administrative and regulatory agencies relating to business practices, the industry in which it operates or the businesses with whom it conducts business. MOHELA believes that the claims, lawsuits and matters will not, individually or collectively, have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.
MOHELA’s address is 633 Spirit Drive, Chesterfield, Missouri 63005-1243. The telephone number of MOHELA is (636) 733-3700 or 1-800-6MOHELA. MOHELA’s website address is http://www.mohela.com, where its financial statements and additional information can be found in the “About Us” section.
As of June 30, 2024, Navient Solutions (on behalf of Navient, Legacy SLM and SLMA) has sponsored approximately 227 student loan securitizations involving approximately 153 FFELP student loan transactions and approximately 74 private education loan transactions.
Navient Solutions owns no loans. As the sponsor and administrator of Navient’s student loan securitization program, Navient Solutions selects portfolios of loans from loans owned by its affiliates for sale to the trust. Navient Solutions is also chiefly responsible for structuring each transaction.
Navient is also the largest holder, servicer and collector of loans made under the discontinued FFELP. Navient owns approximately $49.1 billion of student loans, of which approximately $32.9 billion, or approximately 67%, are federally insured, as of June 30, 2024.
In addition to federal loan programs, which have statutory limits on annual and total borrowing, Navient Solutions and its affiliates (prior to their separation from Sallie Mae Bank) sponsored a variety of private education loan programs and purchased loans made under such programs to bridge the gap between the cost of education and a student’s resources. Navient and its subsidiaries (including Sallie Mae Bank when it was a part of Legacy SLM) originated such private education loans which are not federally guaranteed. Most of these higher education private education loans were made in conjunction with a FFELP Stafford loan, in which case they were marketed to schools through the same marketing channels as FFELP loans by the same sales force. In 2004, Navient Solutions expanded its direct-to-consumer loan marketing channel with its Tuition Answer(SM) loan program where Navient Solutions’ affiliates originated and purchased loans outside of the traditional financial aid process. Navient Solutions’ affiliates also originated and purchased alternative private education loans, which are marketed by a subsidiary of Navient to technical and trade schools, tutorial and learning centers, and private kindergarten through secondary education schools. These loans were primarily made at schools not eligible for Title IV loans. In 2006, Navient Solutions began to sponsor a private credit consolidation loan program under which certain Navient Solutions affiliates and their lender partners made new loans available to borrowers to combine two or more existing loans into a single loan. In 2017, Navient Corporation acquired a majority interest in Earnest, Inc. and converted it to a limited liability company upon acquisition. Founded in 2013, Earnest is based in San Francisco, California. Earnest Operations LLC, an affiliate of Navient Solutions, originates private credit student loans made to refinance borrowers’ existing student loans.
Currently Earnest is the only Navient affiliate that originates private education loans, but other Navient affiliates retain ownership of a significant portfolio of private education loans (both for their own accounts and indirectly through the residual ownership of the issuing entities from transactions sponsored by Navient Solutions) that were originated by Legacy SLM affiliates (including Sallie Mae Bank) prior to the corporate separation.
Navient Credit Finance Corporation. Navient Credit Finance Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navient. We sometimes refer to Navient Credit Finance Corporation, together with its successors in interest, as Navient CFC. Navient CFC was formed on July 27, 1999. It changed its name to Navient Credit Finance Corporation on May 2, 2014. Navient CFC purchases Stafford Loans, SLS Loans, PLUS Loans, consolidation loans and/or other types of federally guaranteed student loans originated by its affiliates or third parties under FFELP described in “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program” to this free-writing prospectus. It may also purchase loans that are not originated under FFELP, including, but not limited to, Health Education Assistance Loan Program loans (referred to as “HEAL Loans”), which the Department of Education insures directly, and other private education loans programs which are not reinsured by the federal government.
VG Funding is a limited liability company whose sole member is Navient CFC. It was formed in Delaware on February 3, 2000. VG Funding is a limited purpose, bankruptcy remote entity formed to purchase education loans, whether originated under the FFELP loan program or other private credit loan programs, for re-sale in various securitization transactions. Navient Solutions, LLC services all loans owned by VG Funding. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (as successor in interest to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association, formerly known as The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), acts as successor interim eligible lender trustee on behalf of VG Funding.
Navient Solutions, LLC services all loans owned by the sellers that may be sold to the trust.
Third-Party Originators. The identity of the actual originator of any particular student loan is not material. In addition, to the extent FFELP loans are purchased in secondary market transactions the identities of the related originators are often not available.
Further, disclosure about separate originators of particular pool asset(s) will not enhance or increase an investor’s ability to assess the risks of these pool assets. All FFELP loans benefit from reinsurance by the U.S. Government and this guarantee is the material provision for reviewing the investor’s risk of loss of principal with respect to these assets. Unlike products without such U.S. Government reinsurance, the credit quality of the originator will not materially affect the likelihood of FFELP loan non-payment. Moreover, the presence of reinsurance by the U.S. Government is not affected by the credit quality of the third party originator. Therefore, no disclosure about any such third-party originator is included herein.
THE TRUST STUDENT LOAN POOL
General
On June 21, 2006, the closing date, the initial eligible lender trustee, on behalf of the trust, purchased the pool of initial trust student loans from the depositor. The information about the trust student loans was originally calculated and presented as of May 23, 2006, the statistical cutoff date.
Eligible Trust Student Loans
The trust student loans were originally selected from the portfolio of student loans owned by Navient CFC, VG Funding or one of their affiliates by employing several criteria, including requirements that each trust student loan as of the statistical cutoff date (and with respect to each additional trust student loan, as of its related subsequent cutoff date, to be specified at the time of its sale to the trust):
| • | was a consolidation loan guaranteed as to principal and interest by a guaranty agency under a guarantee agreement and the guaranty agency was, in turn, reinsured by the Department of Education in accordance with the FFELP; |
| • | contained terms in accordance with those required by the FFELP, the guarantee agreements and other applicable requirements; |
| • | was not more than 210 days past due; |
| • | did not have a borrower who was noted in the related records of the servicer as being currently involved in a bankruptcy proceeding; and |
| • | had special allowance payments, if any, based on the three-month commercial paper rate or the 91-day Treasury bill rate. |
No trust student loan was, as of the applicable cutoff date, or will be, subject to any prior obligation to sell that loan to a third party.
The addition of add-on consolidation loans utilizing funds on deposit in the add-on consolidation loan account was not a sale of new loans to the trust; rather, each such addition merely served to increase the principal balance of the applicable existing trust student loan and, in the event of a breach of any representation or warranty, the applicable seller is required to repurchase the entire applicable trust student loan, including the portion attributable to the add-on consolidation loan.
Characteristics of the Trust Student Loans
Unless otherwise specified, all information with respect to the trust student loans presented in this free-writing prospectus or in Annex A to this free-writing prospectus is presented as of August 31, 2024, which is the statistical disclosure date.
The tables contained in “
Annex A – The Trust Student Loan Pool” in this free-writing prospectus provide a description of specified characteristics of the trust student loans as of the statistical disclosure date. The aggregate outstanding principal balance of the loans in each of the tables in Annex A includes the outstanding principal balance due from borrowers, plus accrued interest of
$2,563,265 to be capitalized as of the statistical disclosure date. Percentages and dollar amounts in any table may not total 100% or whole dollars due to rounding. The tables in Annex A also contain information concerning the total number of loans and total number of borrowers in the portfolio of trust student loans. For ease of administration, the servicer separates a consolidation loan on its system into two separate loan segments representing subsidized and unsubsidized segments of the same loan. The tables in Annex A reflect those loan segments within the number of loans. In addition, approximately 147 borrowers have more than one trust student loan.
For a description of the FFELP, see “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program” in this free-writing prospectus.
Insurance of Trust Student Loans; Guarantors of Trust Student Loans
Each trust student loan is required to be guaranteed as to at least 98% of the principal and interest by one of the guaranty agencies as described below and reinsured by the Department of Education under the Higher Education Act and must be eligible for special allowance payments and, in the case of some trust student loans, interest subsidy payments by the Department of Education.
In general, disbursed student loans are guaranteed by the applicable guarantor, and reinsured against default by the Department of Education. The percentage of the guarantee is based upon the date of disbursement of the student loans as follows:
| | |
Prior to October 1, 1993 | | 100% |
On or after October 1, 1993 but before July 1, 2006 | | 98% |
See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program—Guaranty Agencies under the FFELP” in this free-writing prospectus.
No insurance premium is charged to a borrower or a lender in connection with a consolidation loan. However, FFELP lenders must pay a monthly rebate fee to the Department of Education at an annualized rate of 1.05% on principal of and interest on consolidation loans disbursed on or after October 1, 1993, or at an annualized rate of 0.62% on consolidation loans for which consolidation loan applications were received between October 1, 1998 and January 31, 1999. The trust will pay this consolidation loan rebate prior to calculating Available Funds.
Under the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, if the Department of Education has determined that a guaranty agency is unable to meet its insurance obligations, a loan holder may submit claims directly to the Department of Education and the Department of Education is required to pay the full guarantee payment in accordance with guarantee claim processing standards no more stringent than those of the guaranty agency. However, the Department of Education’s obligation to pay guarantee claims directly in this fashion is contingent upon the Department of Education making the determination referred to above. We cannot assure you that the Department of Education would ever make such a determination with respect to a guaranty agency or, if such a determination was made, whether that determination or the ultimate payment of guarantee claims would be made in a timely manner. See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program—Guaranty Agencies under the FFELP” in this free-writing prospectus.
The table on page A-12 of Annex A provides information with respect to the portion of the trust student loans guaranteed by each guarantor.
The eligible lender trustee has entered into a separate guarantee agreement with each of the guaranty agencies shown on the table on page A-12 of Annex A to this free-writing prospectus, under which each of the guarantors has agreed to serve as guarantor for the specified trust student loans.
Some historical information about each guaranty agency that guarantees trust student loans comprising at least 10% of the Pool Balance as of the statistical disclosure date is provided beginning on page A-13 in Annex A. For purposes of the tables in Annex A, we refer to these guaranty agencies as the “Significant Guarantors.”
The Department of Education is required to make reinsurance payments to guarantors with respect to FFELP loans in default. This requirement is subject to specified reductions when the guarantor’s claims rate for a fiscal year equals or exceeds certain trigger percentages of the aggregate original principal amount of FFELP loans guaranteed by that guarantor that are in repayment on the last day of the prior fiscal year. See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program—Guaranty Agencies under the FFELP” in this free-writing prospectus.
Each guaranty agency’s guarantee obligations with respect to any trust student loan is conditioned upon the satisfaction of all the conditions in the applicable guarantee agreement. These conditions include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | the origination and servicing of the trust student loan being performed in accordance with the FFELP, the Higher Education Act, the guaranty agency’s rules and other applicable requirements; |
| • | the timely payment to the guaranty agency of the guarantee fee payable on the trust student loan; and |
| • | the timely submission to the guaranty agency of all required pre-claim delinquency status notifications and of the claim on the trust student loan. |
Failure to comply with any of the applicable conditions, including those listed above, may result in the refusal of the guaranty agency to honor its guarantee agreement on the trust student loan, in the denial of guarantee coverage for certain accrued interest amounts or in the loss of certain interest subsidy payments and special allowance payments.
Prospective investors may consult the Department of Education Data Books for further information concerning the guarantors.
Cure Period for Trust Student Loans
The sellers, the depositor or the servicer, as applicable, will be obligated to purchase, or to substitute qualified student loans for, any trust student loan in the event of a material breach of certain representations, warranties or covenants concerning the trust student loan, following a period during which the breach may be cured. For purposes of trust student loans the cure period will be 210 days. However, in the case of breaches that may be cured by the reinstatement of the guarantor’s guarantee of the trust student loan, the cure period will be 360 days. In each case the cure period begins on the earlier of the date on which the breach is discovered and the date of the servicer’s receipt of the guarantor reject transmittal form with respect to the trust student loan. The purchase or substitution will be made not later than the end of the 210-day cure period or not later than the 60th day following the end of the 360-day cure period, as applicable.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if as of the last business day of any month the aggregate principal amount of trust student loans for which claims have been filed with and rejected by a guarantor as a result of a breach by the depositor or the servicer or for which the servicer determines that claims cannot be filed pursuant to the Higher Education Act as a result of that breach exceeds 1% of the Pool Balance, then the servicer or the depositor, as applicable, will be required to purchase, within 30 days of a written request by the eligible lender trustee or the indenture trustee, affected trust student loans in an aggregate principal amount so that after the purchases the aggregate principal amount of affected trust student loans is less than 1% of the Pool Balance. The trust student loans to be purchased by the servicer or the depositor pursuant to the preceding sentence will be based on the date of claim rejection, with the trust student loans with the earliest of these dates to be purchased first. See “Servicing and Administration—Servicer Covenants” and “Transfer and Servicing Agreements—Sale of Student Loans to the Trust; Representations and Warranties of the Depositor” and “—Purchase of Student Loans by the Depositor; Representations and Warranties of the Sellers” in this free-writing prospectus.
Consolidation of Federal Benefit Billings and Receipts and Guarantor Claims with Other Trusts
Due to a Department of Education policy limiting the granting of new lender identification numbers, the eligible lender trustee will be allowed under the trust agreement to permit other trusts established by the depositor to securitize student loans to use the Department of Education lender identification number applicable to the trust. In that event, the billings submitted to the Department of Education for interest subsidy and special allowance payments on loans in the trust would be consolidated with the billings for the payments for student loans in other trusts using the same lender identification number and payments on the billings would be made by the Department of Education in lump sum form. These lump sum payments would then be allocated on a loan-by-loan basis among the various trusts using the same lender identification number.
In addition, the sharing of the lender identification number with other trusts may result in the receipt of claim payments from guaranty agencies in lump sum form. In that event, these payments would be allocated among the trusts in a manner similar to the allocation process for interest subsidy and special allowance payments.
The Department of Education regards the eligible lender trustee as the party primarily responsible to the Department of Education for any liabilities owed to the Department of Education or guaranty agencies resulting from the eligible lender trustee’s activities in the FFELP. As a result, if the Department of Education or a guaranty agency were to determine that the eligible lender trustee owes a liability to the Department of Education or a guaranty agency on any student loan included in a trust using the shared lender identification number, the Department of Education or that guaranty agency would be likely to collect that liability by offset against amounts due the eligible lender trustee under the shared lender identification number, including amounts owed in connection with the trust.
In addition, other trusts using the shared lender identification number may in a given quarter incur consolidation origination fees, consolidation loan rebate fees or floor income rebates that exceed the interest subsidy and special allowance payments payable by the Department of Education on the loans in the other trusts, resulting in the consolidated payment from the Department of Education received by the eligible lender trustee under the lender identification number for that quarter equaling an amount that is less than the amount owed by the Department of Education on the loans in the trust for that quarter.
The servicing agreement for the trust and the servicing agreements for the other trusts established by the depositor that share the lender identification number to be used by the trust will require any trust to indemnify the other trusts against a shortfall or an offset by the Department of Education or a guaranty agency arising from the trust student loans held by the eligible lender trustee on the related trust’s behalf.
THE COMPANIES’ STUDENT LOAN FINANCING BUSINESS
The information provided below relates to the portfolio of loans originated by Legacy SLM entities (including Sallie Mae Bank) that were owned by Navient and its subsidiaries at the time of its separation from Sallie Mae Bank.
Navient operates its student loan financing business through several subsidiaries, including Navient CFC. We sometimes refer to Navient and its family of subsidiaries as the Companies (or individually as a Company if the context requires). The Companies have made and/or purchase or have purchased loans insured under several other education loan programs, including, but not limited to, Health Education Assistance Loan Program loans (“HEAL Loans”), which the Department of Education insures directly, and other private education loan programs which are not reinsured by the federal government. The Companies also originated and/or purchase student loans insured under various federally sponsored programs. The Companies purchase Stafford Loans, SLS Loans and PLUS Loans originated under the FFELP, all of which are insured by guarantors and reinsured by the Department of Education. They also originated and purchase consolidation loans.
They purchase insured loans from various sources including:
| • | commercial banks, thrift institutions and credit unions; |
| • | pension funds and insurance companies; |
| • | educational institutions; |
| • | various state and private nonprofit loan originating and secondary market agencies; and |
| • | various other third parties. |
These purchases occur at various times including:
| • | shortly after loan origination; |
| • | while the borrowers are still in school; |
| • | just before the loan’s conversion to repayment after borrowers graduate or otherwise leave school; or |
| • | while the loans are in repayment. |
The purchaser directly or indirectly through the servicer, frequently provides the selling institution with operational support in the form of either:
| • | its automated loan administration system called PortSS® for the lender to use prior to loan sale; or |
| • | its loan origination and interim servicing system called ExportSS®. |
Both PortSS and ExportSS provide the applicable Company entity and the lender with the assurance that the loans will be administered by the servicer’s computerized servicing systems.
FFELP Loans. Substantially all payments of principal and interest with respect to loans originated through the FFELP will be guaranteed against default, death, bankruptcy or disability of the applicable borrower, and a closing of or a false certification by such borrower’s school, by certain federal guarantors pursuant to a guarantee agreement to be entered into between such federal guarantors specified in this free-writing prospectus (each a “Federal Guarantor” and collectively, the “Federal Guarantors”) and the applicable eligible lender trustee (such agreements, each as amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Federal Guarantee Agreements”). See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program” in this free-writing prospectus.
Private Education Loans. In addition to FFELP loans, the Companies also hold private education loans that are not federally guaranteed loans and were either originated under programs developed by the sellers or other affiliates (or Legacy SLM affiliates, including Sallie Mae Bank) of Navient, or purchased from unaffiliated sellers. We sometimes refer to all such loans as private education loans in this free-writing prospectus. While the types of private education loans and related loan programs owned by the Companies may vary from time to time, the types of private education loans which are currently owned by the Companies include the following loan programs:
| • | Undergraduate and Graduate Loan Programs; |
| • | Direct-to-Consumer Loan Programs; |
| • | Private Consolidation Loan Program; |
| • | Career Training Loan Program; |
| • | Smart Option Student Loan Program; and |
| • | Private Education Refi Loan Program. |
The Companies’ private education loans are serviced by Navient Solutions and may have been funded by an affiliate, a former affiliate or a lender partner. These loans are typically purchased by Navient CFC (or another affiliate).
The trust’s assets only consist of FFELP loans and amounts on deposit in the Trust Accounts.
Servicing
Prior to purchase of a loan by the applicable Company entity, the servicer or a third-party servicing agent surveys appropriate loan documents for compliance with Department of Education and guarantor requirements. Such survey generally consists of the servicer or third-party servicing agent undertaking a review of certain documentation and information with respect to each purchase of a portfolio of loans with an understanding of the obligations undertaken by the relevant parties with respect to the loan guarantees in an asset-backed securitization. The reviewing party bases the scope and breadth of the review on the characteristics of the particular transaction, terms and timing of the loan and its origination and other information deemed important based on their experience in the industry and knowledge of the risks associated therein. Once acquired, loans are serviced through the servicer or third-party servicers, in each case under contractual agreements with a Company entity.
The Department of Education and the various guarantors prescribe rules and regulations which govern the servicing of federally insured loans. These rules and regulations include specific procedures for contacting delinquent borrowers, locating borrowers who can no longer be contacted at their documented address or telephone number, and filing claims for reimbursement on loans in default. Payments under a guarantor’s guarantee agreement require strict adherence to these stated due diligence and collection procedures.
Regulations require that collection efforts commence within ten days of any delinquency and continue for the period of delinquency until the loan is deemed to be in default status. During the delinquency period, the holder of the loan must diligently attempt to contact the borrower, in writing and by telephone, at specified intervals. Most FFELP loans are considered to be in default when they become 210 days delinquent.
A guarantor may reject any claim for payment under a guarantee agreement if the specified due diligence and collection procedures required by that guarantee agreement have not been strictly followed and documented or if the claim is not timely filed. Minor errors in due diligence may result in the imposition of interest penalties, rather than a complete loss of the guarantee. In instances in which a claim for payment under a guarantee agreement is denied due to servicing or claim-filing errors, the guaranteed status of the affected student loans may be reinstated by following specified procedures, called “curing the defect.” Interest penalties are commonly incurred on loans that are cured. The servicer’s recent experience has been that the significant majority of all rejected claims are cured within two years, either internally or through collection agencies.
The servicer’s internal procedures support compliance with existing Department of Education and guarantor regulations and reporting requirements, and provide high quality service to borrowers. It utilizes computerized servicing systems. These systems monitor all student loans serviced by its loan servicing centers. The computerized servicing systems identify loans which require due diligence or other servicing procedures and disseminate the necessary loan information to initiate the servicing or collection process. The computerized servicing systems enable the servicer to service a high volume of loans in a manner consistent with industry requirements. Navient and its subsidiaries, including Navient CFC and the depositor, also require their third-party servicers to maintain operating procedures which comply with applicable Department of Education and guarantor regulations and reporting requirements, and periodically reviews certain operations for compliance.
Consolidation/Repayment Programs. Consolidation and repayment programs made available by the Companies to student loan borrowers and cosigners were made available to borrowers and cosigners with trust student loans. Navient and its subsidiaries participated in the consolidation loan program for FFELP loans until 2008 and the consolidation loan lending program itself was terminated in 2010 in connection with the elimination of FFELP as an ongoing program. See “Appendix A—Federal Family Education Loan Program—Consolidation Loan Program” in this free-writing prospectus. Therefore, the transfer and servicing agreements still permit the sellers to purchase such student loans from the trust to effect consolidations at the request of borrowers.
In addition, many Company affiliates offer some borrowers loan repayment terms that do not provide for level payments over the repayment term of the loan. For example, under a typical graduated repayment program, some student loans provide for an “interest only” repayment option for a specified period of time, usually the first twenty-four (24) or forty-eight (48) months after the loan enters repayment. During this period, the borrower is required to make payment of accrued interest only. No payment of the principal of the loan is required. At the conclusion of the interest only period, the loan must be amortized through level payments over the remaining term of the loan. Borrowers can also request an extended repayment term based on the remaining loan balance.
In other cases, Company affiliates offer borrowers a “graduated phased in” amortization of the principal of the loans. For these loans, a greater portion of the principal amortization of the loan occurs in the later stages of the loan than would be the case if amortization were on a level payment basis.
These companies also offer various income-driven repayment plans under which repayments are based on the borrower’s income. Under these plans, ultimate repayment may be delayed for a period significantly longer than the originally scheduled repayment term. In addition, interest rate reduction programs may be offered to borrowers experiencing periods of financial distress.
Incentive Programs. Navient and its subsidiaries have offered, and intend to continue to offer, various incentive programs to student loan borrowers and cosigners. Some of the programs that may apply to student loans owned by the trusts are:
| • | Great Rewards(SM). Under the Great Rewards(SM) program, which is available for all student loans that were disbursed prior to June 30, 2002 and enter repayment after July 1993, if a borrower makes 48 consecutive scheduled payments in a timely fashion, the effective interest rate is reduced permanently by 2% per annum. |
| • | Great Returns(SM). Under the Great Returns(SM) program, borrowers whose loans were disbursed prior to June 30, 2002 and who make 24 consecutive scheduled payments in a timely fashion get a reduction in principal equal to any amount over $250 that was paid as part of the borrower’s origination fee to the extent that the fee does not exceed 3% of the principal amount of the loan. |
| • | Direct Repay/ ACH Benefit plan. Under the Direct Repay/ ACH Benefit plan, borrowers who make student loan payments electronically through automatic monthly deductions from a savings, checking or NOW account receive a 0.25% or 0.50% effective interest rate reduction as long as loan payments continue to be successfully deducted from the borrower’s bank account. |
| • | Cash Back plan. Under the Cash Back plan, borrowers (i) whose loans are with a Company lender partner, (ii) who enroll in Manage Your Loans(SM), the servicer’s on-line account manager, (iii) who agree to receive their account information by e-mail and (iv) who make their first 33 scheduled payments on time, receive a 3.3% check or credit based upon their original loan amount. |
| • | Federal Student Loan Consolidation Incentive. Borrowers with an initial consolidation loan balance of at least $10,000 who make their first 36 payments on time receive a 1.0% interest rate reduction during periods of active repayment. |
| • | On-Time Payment Interest Rate Reduction plan. Under the On-Time Payment Interest Rate Reduction plan, borrowers who make their first 24 scheduled payments on time, sign-up for on-line loan management within 60 days from the first payment due date and continue to make payments on time, receive a 0.5% effective interest rate reduction. |
We cannot predict how many borrowers will participate in these programs. These incentive programs or other programs may also be made available by the servicer to borrowers with trust student loans.
Application of any of these incentive programs could impact the yield on your notes. For example, if one or more of the incentive programs which offer a principal balance reduction to borrowers are made available to borrowers with trust student loans and a higher than anticipated number of borrowers qualify, the principal balance of the affected trust student loans may repay faster than anticipated. Accordingly, your notes may experience faster than anticipated principal payments.
Conversely, the existence of these incentive programs may discourage a borrower from prepaying an affected trust student loan. If this were to occur, the principal balance of your notes may be reduced over a longer period than would be the case if there were no such incentive program.
Furthermore, incentive programs may reduce the amount of funds available to make payments on your notes by reducing the principal balances and yield on the trust student loans. In that case, you will bear the risk of any loss not covered by available credit enhancement.
TRANSFER AGREEMENTS
General
The following is a summary of the material terms of the sale agreement under which the trust purchased student loans from the depositor, and the purchase agreements under which the depositor acquired the student loans from the sellers. We refer to the purchase agreements and the sale agreement, collectively, as the “transfer agreements.” The summary does not cover every detail of these agreements, and it is subject to the provisions of the transfer agreements.
Purchase of Student Loans by the Depositor; Representations and Warranties of the Sellers
On the closing date, each seller sold to the depositor (and with respect to legal title, the interim eligible lender trustee for the benefit of the depositor), without recourse, its entire interest in the student loans and all collections received on and after the statistical cutoff date. A bill of sale in the form shown as an exhibit to the related purchase agreement was delivered in connection with the sale of the trust student loans that described the student loan pool. The depositor applied net proceeds from the sale of the notes to purchase the student loans from the related seller.
Pursuant to the related transfer agreement, each seller represented and warranted to the depositor and the depositor in turn represented and warranted to the trust, that, as of the closing date or as of the date otherwise noted:
| • | each student loan was free and clear of all security interests and other encumbrances and no offsets, defenses or counterclaims had been asserted or threatened; |
| • | the information provided about the student loans was true and correct as of the original cutoff date; |
| • | each student loan complied in all material respects with applicable federal and state laws and applicable restrictions imposed by the FFELP or under any guarantee agreement; and |
| • | each student loan was guaranteed by the applicable guarantor. |
Upon discovery of a breach of any representation or warranty that has a materially adverse effect on the depositor, the applicable seller will repurchase the affected student loan unless the breach is cured within the applicable cure period specified in the related prospectus supplement. The purchase amount will be equal to the amount required to prepay in full that student loan including all accrued interest. Alternatively, rather than repurchasing the trust student loan, the affected seller may, in its discretion, substitute qualified student loans for that loan. In addition, the affected seller will be obligated to reimburse the depositor for:
| • | the shortfall, if any, between: |
| o | the purchase amount of the qualified substitute student loans, |
and
| o | the purchase amount of the trust student loans being replaced; plus |
| • | any accrued interest amounts not guaranteed by, or that are required to be refunded to, a guarantor and any interest subsidy payments or special allowance payments lost as a result of the breach. |
The repurchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations of the sellers constitute the sole remedy available to the depositor for any uncured breach. The sellers’ repurchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations are contractual obligations that the depositor or trust may enforce against the sellers, but the breach of these obligations will not constitute an event of default under the indenture. In cases where the obligations the trust is seeking to enforce are based on a violation of the Higher Education Act, a finding by the Department of Education that the Higher Education Act was violated may be required prior to the trust being able to enforce the agreement.
Sale of Student Loans to the Trust; Representations and Warranties of the Depositor
On the closing date, the depositor and the interim eligible lender trustee, on behalf of the depositor, sold to the trust and the eligible lender trustee, on behalf of the trust, without recourse, its entire interest in the student loans acquired by the depositor and the interim eligible lender trustee, on behalf of the depositor, from the sellers. Each student loan was listed in an exhibit to the sale agreement. The notes were issued by the trust concurrently with that sale. The trust purchased the student loans from the depositor in exchange for the proceeds from the issuance of the notes and the issuance of the excess distribution certificate to the depositor.
During the supplemental purchase period, the trust purchased additional trust student loans from the depositor which the depositor purchased from one or more of the sellers.
In the sale agreement, the depositor made representations and warranties concerning the student loans to the trust for the benefit of noteholders, including representations and warranties that were substantially the same as those made by the sellers to the depositor. See, “—Purchase of the Student Loans by the Depositor; Representations of the Sellers” above.
Upon discovery of a breach of any representation or warranty that has a materially adverse effect on the trust, the depositor will have repurchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations that are substantially the same as those of the sellers under the purchase agreements.
The repurchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations of the depositor will constitute the sole remedy available to the noteholders for any uncured breach. The depositor’s repurchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations are contractual obligations that the trust may enforce against the depositor, but the breach of these obligations will not constitute an event of default under the indenture. In cases where the obligations the trust is seeking to enforce are based on a violation of the Higher Education Act, a finding by the Department of Education that the Higher Education Act was violated may be required prior to the trust being able to enforce the agreement.
Custodian of Promissory Notes
To assure uniform quality in servicing and to reduce administrative costs, the servicer acts as custodian of the promissory notes, in physical or electronic form, representing the trust student loans and any other related documents. In acting as custodian, the servicer may use its own facilities or those of sub-custodians. The depositor’s and the servicer’s records reflect the sale by the sellers of the trust student loans to the depositor and their subsequent sale by the depositor to the trust.
Upon the payment in full of all outstanding notes, the eligible lender trustee will succeed to all the rights of the indenture trustee on behalf of the holder of the excess distribution certificate.
The obligations of the servicer, the depositor, the administrator, the eligible lender trustee, and the indenture trustee under the transfer and servicing agreements will terminate upon:
| • | the maturity or other liquidation of the last trust student loan and the disposition of any amount received upon liquidation of any remaining trust student loan, and |
| • | the payment to the noteholders of all amounts required to be paid to them. |
The servicer, at its option, may repurchase or arrange for the purchase of all remaining trust student loans as of the end of any collection period if the outstanding Pool Balance is 10% or less of the Initial Pool Balance plus accrued interest to be capitalized as of the applicable cutoff dates. The purchase price will equal the aggregate purchase amounts for the loans as of the end of that collection period. It will not be less than the minimum purchase amount specified. These amounts will be used to retire the related notes. Upon termination of the trust, any remaining assets of the trust, after giving effect to final distributions to the noteholders, will be transferred to the reserve account and paid as provided in this free-writing prospectus.
If the servicer or another entity fails to exercise their optional purchase right as described above, the indenture trustee may, or at the written direction of the administrator or the holders of a majority of the outstanding amount of the notes, shall, try to auction any trust student loans remaining in the trust at the end of the collection period preceding the trust auction date specified in this free-writing prospectus. Navient CFC, its affiliates and unrelated third parties may make bids to purchase these trust student loans on the trust auction date; however, Navient CFC or its affiliates may offer bids only if the Pool Balance at that date is 10% or less of the Initial Pool Balance together with the aggregate initial principal balances of all trust student loans acquired during the supplemental purchase period plus accrued interest to be capitalized as of the applicable cutoff dates.
SERVICING AND ADMINISTRATION
General
The following is a summary of the important terms of the servicing agreement under which the servicer services the trust student loans and the administration agreement under which the administrator undertakes administrative duties for the trust and the trust student loans. This summary does not cover every detail of these agreements and it is subject to all provisions of the servicing agreement and the administration agreement. We also refer to the transfer agreements, the servicing agreement and the administration agreement, collectively, as the “transfer and servicing agreements.”
The administrator has established and maintains, in the name of the indenture trustee and for the benefit of the reset rate noteholders the collection account, the remarketing fee account and the reserve account.
Funds in the collection account, the remarketing fee account, the reserve account, any accumulation account, any supplemental interest account, any investment premium purchase account, and any investment reserve account will be invested as provided in the indenture in eligible investments. Eligible investments are generally limited to investments acceptable to the rating agencies as being consistent with the ratings of the notes. Subject to some conditions, eligible investments may include debt instruments or other obligations (including asset-backed securities) issued by the depositor or its affiliates, other trusts originated by the depositor or its affiliates or third parties and repurchase obligations of those persons with respect to federally guaranteed student loans that are serviced by the servicer or an affiliate thereof. Eligible investments are limited to obligations or debt instruments that are expected to mature not later than the business day immediately preceding the next applicable distribution date, or, with respect to the collection account only, the next monthly servicing fee payment date, to the extent of the primary servicing fee; provided, however, that with respect to funds on deposit in any accumulation account, related eligible investments may mature no later than the business day immediately preceding the next reset date for the reset rate notes.
The administrator will direct the related Swap Counterparties to pay all amounts denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars payable under any currency swap agreement into the applicable currency account.
Under the servicing agreement, the servicer agreed to service all the trust student loans. The servicer is required to perform all services and duties customary to the servicing of student loans, including all collection practices. It must use the same standard of care as it uses to service similar student loans owned by Navient and its affiliates in compliance with the applicable guarantee agreements and all other applicable federal and state laws, including the Higher Education Act.
The duties of the servicer include the following:
| • | collecting and depositing into the collection account all payments on the trust student loans, including claiming and obtaining any program payments; |
| • | responding to inquiries from borrowers; |
| • | attempting to collect delinquent payments; and |
| • | sending out statements and payment coupons to borrowers. |
In addition, the servicer will keep ongoing records on the loans and its collection activities utilizing the same standards it uses for similar student loans owned by Navient and its affiliates in compliance with the applicable guarantee agreements and all other applicable federal and state laws, including the Higher Education Act. It will also furnish periodic statements to the indenture trustee, the eligible lender trustee, and the noteholders as specifically required in the servicing agreement. See “—Statements to Indenture Trustee and Trust” in this free-writing prospectus.
Modification of Trust Student Loans
Except in connection with the offering of incentive programs (the potential impact of which on the notes is described under “The Companies’ Student Loan Financing Business—Incentive Programs” in this free-writing prospectus) or as required by pursuant to the provisions of the FFELP (including repayment provision changes that are mandatory based on changes in a borrower status, e.g., in-school, grace, deferment and forbearance), the terms of the trust student loans will generally not be modified. Any borrower incentive programs in effect on the date of the sale of the trust student loans to the trust will continue to be offered to the related borrowers and will remain in effect for so long as the related borrower remains eligible to receive such benefits. None of the sellers, the depositor, the servicer or the administrator will reimburse the trust for any loss of yield on a trust student loan incurred as a result of such borrower incentive programs.
Payments on Trust Student Loans
The servicer will deposit all payments on trust student loans and proceeds that it collects during each collection period into the related collection account within two Business Days of receipt. The eligible lender trustee will deposit all interest subsidy payments and all special allowance payments on the trust student loans that it receives for each collection period into the collection account within two Business Days of receipt.
A Business Day for this purpose is any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies in the City of New York, or Wilmington, Delaware are authorized or obligated by law, regulation or executive order to remain closed.
The servicer may invest collections, pending deposit into the collection account, at its own risk and for its own benefit, and it will not segregate these funds. The depositor and the servicer will pay the aggregate purchase amount of student loans repurchased by the sellers or purchased by the servicer to the administrator, and the administrator will deposit these amounts into the collection account on or before the Business Day preceding each distribution date.
The servicing agreement will not require the servicer to make advances to any trust and no such advances have been made by the servicer with respect to any trust student loans prior to their sale to the trust.
The servicer generally, among other things, agreed in the servicing agreement that:
| • | it will satisfy all of its obligations relating to the trust student loans, maintain in effect all qualifications required in order to service the loans and comply in all material respects with all requirements of law if a failure to comply would have a materially adverse effect on the interests of the trust; |
| • | it will not permit any rescission or cancellation of a trust student loan except as ordered by a court or other government authority or as consented to by the eligible lender trustee and the indenture trustee, except that it may write off any delinquent loan if the remaining balance of the borrower’s account is less than $50; |
| • | it will do nothing to impair the rights of the noteholders in the trust student loans; and |
| • | it will not reschedule, revise, defer or otherwise compromise payments due on any trust student loan except during any applicable interest only, deferment or forbearance periods or otherwise in accordance with the same standards it uses for similar student loans owned by Navient and its affiliates. |
Upon the discovery of a breach of any covenant that has a materially adverse effect on the interest of the trust, the servicer will purchase the trust student loan unless the breach is cured in the same manner as that applicable to the related seller as described under “The Trust Student Loan Pool-Cure Period for Trust Student Loans” and “Transfer Agreements—Purchase of the Student Loans by the Depositor; Representations of the Sellers” in this free-writing prospectus. However, any breach that relates to compliance with the requirements of the Higher Education Act or the applicable guarantor but that does not affect that guarantor’s obligation to guarantee payment of a trust student loan will not be considered to have a material adverse effect. In addition, a finding by the Department of Education that the Higher Education Act was violated or that a loan is no longer insured because of a violation of the Higher Education Act may be required prior to the trust being able to enforce the agreement.
The purchase price will equal the unpaid principal amount of that trust student loan plus any accrued interest. The purchase price will also be calculated using the applicable percentage that would have been insured pursuant to Section 428(b)(1)(G) of the Higher Education Act plus any interest subsidy payments or special allowance payments not paid by, or required to be refunded to, the Department of Education for that trust student loan as a result of a breach of any covenant of the servicer. The trust’s interest in that purchased trust student loan will be assigned to the servicer or its designee. Alternatively, rather than purchase trust student loans, the servicer may, in its sole discretion, substitute qualified, equivalent (in the aggregate as of the date of substitution) student loans for the trust student loans being substituted.
In addition, the servicer will be obligated to reimburse the trust for:
| • | the shortfall, if any, between: |
| o | the purchase amount of the qualified substitute trust student loans; |
and
| o | the purchase amount of the trust student loans being replaced; and |
| • | any accrued interest amounts not guaranteed by or that are required to be refunded to a guarantor and any interest subsidy payments or special allowance payments lost as a result of a breach. |
The purchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations of the servicer will constitute the sole remedy available to the trust for any uncured breach. The servicer’s purchase or substitution and reimbursement obligations are contractual obligations that the trust may enforce, but the breach of these obligations will not constitute an event of default under the indenture.
The servicer will be entitled to receive the servicing fee in an amount equal to the primary servicing fee and the carryover servicing fee as compensation for performing the functions as servicer for the trust. The primary servicing fee is payable on each monthly servicing payment date out of Available Funds and amounts on deposit in the reserve account on that date. The carryover servicing fee is payable to the servicer on each distribution date out of Available Funds after payment on that distribution date of clauses (a) through (k) under “—Distributions—Distributions from the Collection Account” below. The carryover servicing fee will be subject to an increase agreed to by the administrator, the eligible lender trustee and the servicer to the extent that a demonstrable and significant increase occurs in the costs incurred by the servicer in providing the services to be provided under the servicing agreement, whether due to changes in applicable governmental regulations, guarantor program requirements or regulations, or postal rates.
Evidence as to Compliance
The administration agreement provides that a firm of independent public accountants will furnish to the trust and indenture trustee an annual report attesting to the servicer’s compliance with the terms of the administration agreement and the servicing agreement, including all statutory provisions incorporated into those agreements. The accounting firm will base this report on its examination of various documents and records and on accounting and auditing procedures considered appropriate under the circumstances.
The administration agreement requires the servicer to deliver to the trust and indenture trustee, concurrently with the compliance report, a certificate signed by an officer of the servicer stating that, to such officer’s knowledge, the servicer has fulfilled its obligations under the administration agreement and the servicing agreement in all material respects. If there has been a material default, the officer’s certificate for that period will describe the default. The servicer has agreed to give the indenture trustee and the eligible lender trustee, notice of servicer defaults under the servicing agreement.
You may obtain copies of these reports and certificates by a request in writing to the indenture trustee.
Matters Regarding the Servicer
The servicing agreement provides that the servicer is an independent contractor and that, except for the services to be performed under the servicing agreement, the servicer does not hold itself out as an agent of the trust.
The servicing agreement provides that the servicer may not resign from its obligations and duties as servicer unless its performance of these duties is no longer legally permissible. No resignation will become effective until the indenture trustee or a successor servicer has assumed the servicer’s duties. The servicer, however, may resign as a result of any sale or transfer of substantially all of its student loan servicing operations relating to the trust student loans if:
| • | the successor to the servicer’s operations assumes in writing all of the obligations of the servicer; |
| • | the sale or transfer and the assumption comply with the requirements of the servicing agreement; and |
| • | the rating agencies confirm that this will not result in a downgrading or a withdrawal of the ratings then applicable to the notes. |
All expenses related to the resignation or removal for cause of any servicer will be paid solely by the servicer being replaced.
The servicing agreement further provides that neither the servicer nor any of its directors, officers, employees or agents will be under any liability to the trust or to noteholders for taking or not taking any action under the servicing agreement, or for errors in judgment. However, the servicer will not be protected against:
| • | its obligation to purchase trust student loans from the trust as required by the servicing agreement or to pay to the trust the amount of any program payment which a guarantor or the Department of Education refuses to pay, or requires the trust to refund, as a result of the servicer’s actions; or |
| • | any liability that would otherwise be imposed by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of the servicer’s duties or because of reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. |
In addition, the servicing agreement provides that the servicer is under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any legal action where it is not named as a party.
Under the circumstances specified in the servicing agreement, any entity into which the servicer may be merged or consolidated, or any entity resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the servicer is a party, or any entity succeeding to the business of the servicer must assume the obligations of the servicer.
Servicer Default
A servicer default under the servicing agreement will consist of:
| • | any failure by the servicer to deposit in the Trust Accounts any required payment that continues for five Business Days after the servicer receives written notice of such failure from the indenture trustee or the eligible lender trustee; |
| • | any failure by the servicer to observe or perform in any material respect any other term, covenant or agreement in the servicing agreement that materially and adversely affects the rights of noteholders and continues for 60 days after written notice of such failure is given (1) to the servicer by the indenture trustee, the eligible lender trustee, or the administrator or (2) to the servicer, the indenture trustee and the eligible lender trustee, by holders of 50% or more of the notes; |
| • | the occurrence of an insolvency event involving the servicer; |
| • | any failure by the servicer to comply with any requirements under the Higher Education Act resulting in a loss of its eligibility as a FFELP loan servicer; or |
| • | any failure by the servicer to deliver any particular information, report, certification or accountants’ letter when and as required by specified sections of the servicing agreement, which continues unremedied for fifteen (15) calendar days after the date on which such information, report, certification or accountants’ letter was required to be delivered. |
An insolvency event is an event of bankruptcy, insolvency, readjustment of debt, marshalling of assets and liabilities or similar proceedings or other actions by a person indicating its insolvency, reorganization under bankruptcy proceedings or inability to pay its obligations.
A servicer default does not include any failure of the servicer to service a student loan in accordance with the Higher Education Act so long as the servicer is in compliance with its obligations under the servicing agreement to purchase any adversely affected trust student loans and to pay to the trust the amount of any program payments lost as a result of the servicer’s actions.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the servicer shall not be deemed to have breached its obligations to service the applicable student loans, nor will a servicer default be deemed to have occurred under the servicing agreement, if the servicer is rendered unable to perform such obligations, in whole or in part, by a force outside the control of the parties to the servicing agreement (including, without limitation, acts of God, acts of war or terrorism, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other material natural or man-made disasters). The servicer will be required to diligently resume the performance of its duties under the servicing agreement as soon as practicable following the termination of such business interruption or, if necessary and appropriate in its reasonable judgment to enable the proper servicing of the trust student loans, to transfer servicing, either temporarily or permanently, to another servicer.
Rights Upon Servicer Default
As long as a servicer default remains unremedied, the indenture trustee or holders of not less than 50% of the notes may terminate all the rights and obligations of the servicer. Only the indenture trustee or the noteholders will have the ability to remove the servicer if a default occurs while the notes are outstanding. Following a termination, a successor servicer appointed by the trust or the indenture trustee itself will succeed to all the responsibilities, duties and liabilities of the servicer under the servicing agreement and will be entitled to similar compensation arrangements. The compensation may not be greater than the servicing compensation to the servicer under the servicing agreement, unless the compensation arrangements will not result in a downgrading or withdrawal of the ratings then applicable to the notes. If the indenture trustee is unwilling or unable to act, it may appoint, or petition a court for the appointment of, a successor whose regular business includes the servicing of student loans. If, however, the servicer becomes a debtor in bankruptcy either voluntarily or involuntarily, and no servicer default other than that insolvency event has occurred, the indenture trustee or the noteholders will not be able to effect the transfer without the approval of the bankruptcy trustee (or the servicer as debtor in possession) or the bankruptcy court.
The holders of a majority of the outstanding notes in the case of any servicer default which does not adversely affect the indenture trustee or the noteholders, on behalf of all noteholders, may waive any default by the servicer, except a default in making any required deposits to or payments from any of the Trust Accounts. Therefore, the noteholders have the ability, except as noted, to waive defaults by the servicer which could materially and adversely affect the holder of the excess distribution certificate. No waiver will impair the noteholders’ rights as to subsequent defaults.
Navient Solutions, as administrator, entered into an administration agreement with the trust, the depositor, the servicer, the eligible lender trustee and the indenture trustee. Under the administration agreement, the administrator agreed to provide various notices and to perform other administrative obligations required by the indenture, trust agreement and sale agreement. These services include:
| • | directing the indenture trustee to make the required distributions from the Trust Accounts on each monthly servicing payment date and each distribution date; |
| • | preparing, based on periodic data received from the servicer, and providing quarterly and annual distribution statements to the eligible lender trustee, and the indenture trustee and any related U.S. federal income tax reporting information; and |
| • | providing the notices and performing other administrative obligations required by the indenture, the trust agreement and the sale agreement. |
As compensation for the performance of the administrator’s obligations under the administration agreement and as reimbursement for its related expenses, the administrator will be entitled to an administration fee in an amount equal to $25,000 per collection period payable in arrears on each distribution date.
In addition, to the extent that the trust does not have sufficient Available Funds therefor on the related reset date, the administrator will advance the amount of certain unpaid expenses (other than remarketing fees) associated with a remarketing, including, without limitation, the fees of the rating agencies in connection with any required satisfaction of the Rating Agency Condition. On subsequent distribution dates, the administrator will be entitled to reimbursement for those remarketing related expenses, from Available Funds on a subordinated basis, as set forth under “Distributions—Distributions From the Collection Account” below.
The administration agreement provides that Navient Solutions may assign its obligations and duties as administrator to an affiliate if the rating agencies confirm that the assignment will not result in a downgrading or a withdrawal of the ratings then applicable to the notes.
The administrator may sub-contract any or all of its duties to a sub-administrator if the following conditions are met:
| • | the sub-administrator assumes in writing all of the obligations of the administrator that are sub-contracted; |
| • | the sub-administrator covenants to comply with the requirements of the administration agreement; and |
| • | the rating agencies confirm that this will not result in a downgrading or a withdrawal of the ratings then applicable to the notes. |
All expenses related to the resignation or removal for cause of any administrator will be paid solely by the administrator being replaced.
An administrator default under the administration agreement consists of:
| • | any failure by the administrator to deliver to the indenture trustee for deposit any required payment by the Business Day preceding any monthly servicing payment date or distribution date, if the failure continues for five Business Days after notice or discovery; |
| • | any failure by the administrator to direct the indenture trustee to make any required distributions from any of the Trust Accounts on any monthly servicing payment date or any distribution date, if the failure continues for five Business Days after notice or discovery; |
| • | any failure by the administrator to observe or perform in any material respect any other term, covenant or agreement in the administration agreement or a related agreement that materially and adversely affects the rights of noteholders and continues for 60 days after written notice of the failure is given: |
| o | to the administrator by the indenture eligible lender trustee, or |
| o | to the administrator, the indenture trustee or the eligible lender trustee, as applicable, by holders of 50% or more of the notes; or |
| • | the occurrence of an insolvency event involving the administrator. |
Rights Upon Administrator Default
As long as any administrator default has not been remedied, the indenture trustee or holders of not less than 50% of the outstanding notes may terminate all the rights and obligations of the administrator. Only the indenture trustee or the noteholders may remove the administrator if an administrator default occurs while the notes are outstanding. Following the termination of the administrator, a successor administrator appointed by the indenture trustee or the indenture trustee itself will succeed to all the responsibilities, duties and liabilities of the administrator under the administration agreement. If, however, the administrator becomes a debtor in bankruptcy either voluntarily or involuntarily, and no other administrator default other than that insolvency event has occurred, the indenture trustee or the noteholders will not be able to effect the transfer without the approval of the bankruptcy trustee (or the administrator as debtor in possession) or the bankruptcy court. If the indenture trustee is unwilling or unable to act, it may appoint, or petition a court for the appointment of, a successor whose regular business includes the servicing or administration of student loans. The indenture trustee may make arrangements for compensation to be paid, which cannot be greater than the compensation to the administrator unless the compensation arrangements will not result in a downgrading or withdrawal of the ratings then applicable to the notes.
Statements to Indenture Trustee and Trust
Before each distribution date, the administrator will prepare and provide a statement to the indenture trustee and the eligible lender trustee, as of the end of the preceding collection period. The statement will include:
| • | the amount of principal distributions for each class of notes; |
| • | the amount of interest distributions for each class of notes and the applicable interest rates; |
| • | the Pool Balance at the beginning and at the end of the preceding collection period; |
| • | the outstanding principal balance and the note pool factor for each class of notes for that distribution date; |
| • | the servicing fees, the administration fees and the amount of any carryover servicing fees for that collection period; |
| • | the interest rates, if available, for the next period for each class of notes or the website where those rates may be found; |
| • | the amount of any aggregate Realized Losses on the trust student loans for that collection period; |
| • | the amount of any note interest shortfall and note principal shortfall, if applicable, for each class of notes, and any changes in these amounts from the preceding statement; |
| • | the amount of any note interest carryover, if applicable, for each class of notes, and any changes in these amounts from the preceding statement; |
| • | the aggregate purchase amounts for any trust student loans repurchased by the depositor, the servicer or the sellers from the trust in that collection period; |
| • | the balance of trust student loans that are delinquent in each delinquency period as of the end of that collection period; |
| • | the balance of any reserve account after giving effect to changes in the balance on that distribution date; |
| • | to the extent applicable, any amount drawn upon from any reserve account with respect to such distribution date; |
| • | any applicable triggers or asset tests are then in effect; |
| • | if applicable, the amount of trust student loans added during the supplemental purchase period and the amount of any required repurchases or substitutions of trust student loans, to the extent material, and the balance of any Trust Accounts as of both the prior and current distribution dates; and |
| • | amounts distributed to the holder of the excess distribution certificate and the uses of Available Funds to the extent not otherwise set forth above. |
Evidence as to Compliance
The administration agreement provides that a firm of independent public accountants will furnish to the trust and indenture trustee an annual report attesting to the administrator’s compliance with the terms of the administration agreement, including all statutory provisions incorporated in the agreement. The accounting firm will base this report on its examination of various documents and records and on accounting and auditing procedures considered appropriate under the circumstances.
The administration agreement requires the administrator to deliver to the trust and indenture trustee, concurrently with each compliance report, a certificate signed by an officer of the administrator stating that, to such officer’s knowledge, the administrator has fulfilled its obligations under that administration agreement. If there has been a material default the officer’s certificate will describe the default. The administrator will agree to give the indenture trustee and eligible lender trustee, notice of administrator defaults under the administration agreement.
You may obtain copies of these reports and certificates by a request in writing to the indenture trustee.
Amendments to Transfer and Servicing Agreements
The parties to the transfer and servicing agreements may amend them without the consent of the noteholders if, in the opinion of counsel satisfactory to the indenture trustee and eligible lender trustee, the amendment will not materially and adversely affect the interests of the noteholders whose written consent has not been obtained, or to correct any manifest error in the terms of the related agreement as compared to the terms expressly set forth in this free-writing prospectus. The parties may also amend the transfer and servicing agreements with the consent of a majority in interest of noteholders. However, such an amendment may not reduce the percentage of the notes required to consent to an amendment, without the consent of the holders of all of the outstanding notes.
The weighted average lives of the reset rate notes generally will depend on the rate at which the principal balances of the related student loans are paid. Payments may be in the form of scheduled amortization or prepayments. For this purpose, prepayments include borrower prepayments in full or in part, including the discharge of student loans by consolidation loans, or as a result of:
| • | borrower default, death, disability or bankruptcy; |
| • | the closing of the borrower’s school; |
| • | the school’s false certification of borrower eligibility; |
| • | liquidation of the student loan or collection of the related guarantee payments; and |
| • | purchase of a student loan by the depositor or the servicer. |
All of the student loans are prepayable at any time without penalty.
A variety of economic, social and other factors, including the factors described below, influence the rate at which student loans prepay. In general, the rate of prepayments may tend to increase when cheaper alternative financing becomes available. However, because many student loans bear interest at a rate that is either actually or effectively floating, it is impossible to predict whether changes in prevailing interest rates will correspond to changes in the interest rates on student loans.
On the other hand, scheduled payments on the student loans, as well as their maturities, may be extended due to applicable grace, deferment and forbearance periods, or for other reasons. The rate of defaults resulting in losses on student loans, as well as the severity and timing of those losses, may affect the principal payments and yield on the reset rate notes.
Some of the terms of payment that the sellers offer to borrowers may extend principal payments on the reset rate notes. The sellers offer some borrowers loan payment terms which provide for an interest only period, when no principal payments are required, or graduated, phased-in amortization of the principal, in which case a greater portion of the principal amortization of the loan occurs in the later stages of the loan’s life than if amortization were on a level payment basis. The sellers also offer income-driven repayment plans, under which repayments are based on the borrower’s income. Under these plans, ultimate repayment may be delayed for a period significantly longer than the original scheduled repayment term. If trust student loans have these payment terms, principal payments on the reset rate notes could be affected.
In addition, the servicing agreement provides that the servicer may offer new incentive programs or repayment programs that currently are or in the future will be made available by the servicer, the sellers or the administrator. If these benefits are made available to borrowers of trust student loans, the effect may be faster amortization of principal of the affected trust student loans. See “The Companies’ Student Loan Financing Business—Servicing—Incentive Programs” in this free-writing prospectus.
In light of the above considerations, we cannot guarantee that principal payments will be made on the reset rate notes on any distribution date, since that will depend, in part, on the amount of principal collected on the trust student loans during the applicable period. As an investor, you will bear any reinvestment risk resulting from a faster or slower rate of prepayment of the loans.
Pool Factors
The pool factor for the reset rate notes is be a seven-digit decimal computed by the administrator before each distribution date. Each pool factor will indicate the remaining outstanding balance of the reset rate notes, after giving effect to distributions to be made on that distribution date, as a fraction of the initial outstanding balance of the reset rate notes. Each pool factor is initially 1.0000000. Thereafter, it will decline to reflect reductions in the outstanding balance of the reset rate notes. Your portion of the aggregate outstanding balance of the reset rate notes will be the product of:
| • | the original denomination of your note; and |
| • | the applicable pool factor. |
Noteholders will receive reports on or about each distribution date concerning various matters, including the payments the trust has received on the trust student loans, the Pool Balance, the applicable pool factor and various other items of information. See “Reports to Noteholders” in this free-writing prospectus.
General
The notes were issued under an indenture dated as of June 1, 2006. The following summary describes the important terms of the notes and the indenture. It does not cover every detail of the notes or the indenture and is subject to all of the provisions of the notes and the indenture.
The reset rate notes will initially be represented by one or more notes, registered in the name of the nominee of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or, if provided in this free-writing prospectus, a nominee selected by the common depository for Clearstream Banking, société anonyme (known as Clearstream, Luxembourg), formerly known as Cedel Bank, société anonyme, and the Euroclear System in Europe. The reset rate notes will be available for purchase in book-entry form only or as otherwise provided in this free-writing prospectus. We have been informed by DTC that DTC’s nominee will be Cede & Co., unless another nominee is specified in this free-writing prospectus. Accordingly, that nominee is expected to be the holder of record of the U.S. Dollar denominated notes of the reset rate notes. Unless and until definitive notes are issued under the limited circumstances described in this free-writing prospectus, an investor in notes in book-entry form will not be entitled to receive a physical certificate representing a note. All references in this free-writing prospectus to actions by holders of notes in book-entry form refer to actions taken by DTC, Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear, as the case may be, upon instructions from its respective participating organizations acting at the direction of the beneficial owners of the notes and all references in this free-writing prospectus to distributions, notices, reports and statements to holders of notes in book-entry form refer to distributions, notices, reports and statements to DTC, Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear or its nominee, as the registered holder of the notes.
Form and Denomination of the Notes
Book-Entry Registration
Investors in notes in book-entry form may, directly or indirectly, hold their notes through DTC in the United States or, if so provided in this free-writing prospectus, through Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear.
Cede & Co., as nominee for DTC, will hold one or more global notes. Unless this free-writing prospectus provides otherwise, Clearstream, Luxembourg and Euroclear will hold omnibus positions on behalf of their participants through customers’ securities accounts in Clearstream, Luxembourg’s and Euroclear’s names on the books of their respective depositories, which in turn will hold these positions in the depositories’ names on the books of DTC. Transfers between DTC participants will occur in accordance with DTC rules. Transfers between Clearstream, Luxembourg participants and Euroclear participants will occur in accordance with their applicable rules and operating procedures.
Cross-market transfers between persons holding directly or indirectly through DTC, on the one hand, and directly or indirectly through Clearstream, Luxembourg participants or Euroclear participants, on the other, will be effected at DTC in accordance with DTC rules on behalf of the relevant European international clearing system by its depository; however, cross-market transactions will require delivery of instructions to the relevant European international clearing system by the counterparty in that system in accordance with its rules and procedures and within its established deadlines (European time). The relevant European international clearing system will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements, deliver instructions to its depositary to take action to effect final settlement on its behalf by delivering or receiving securities in DTC, and making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures for same-day funds settlement applicable to DTC. Clearstream, Luxembourg participants and Euroclear participants may not deliver instructions directly to the depositaries.
Because of time-zone differences, credits of securities received in Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear as a result of a transaction with DTC participants will be made during subsequent securities settlement processing and dated the business day following the DTC settlement date. Credits for any transactions in the securities settled during this processing will be reported to the relevant Euroclear or Clearstream, Luxembourg participant on that business day. Cash received in Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear as a result of sales of securities by or through a Clearstream, Luxembourg participant or a Euroclear participant to a DTC participant will be received with value on the DTC settlement date but will be available in the relevant Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear cash account only as of the business day following settlement in DTC. For additional information regarding clearance and settlement procedures for the securities, and for information on tax documentation procedures relating to the securities, see “Appendix B—Global Clearance, Settlement and Tax Documentation Procedures” in this free-writing prospectus.
DTC is a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of New York, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing agency” registered under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). DTC was created to hold securities for its participating organizations and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between those participants through electronic book-entries, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates. Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies and clearing corporations, including Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg. Indirect access to the DTC system also is available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a participant, either directly or indirectly.
Noteholders that are not participants or indirect participants but desire to purchase, sell or otherwise transfer ownership of, or other interests in, securities held through DTC may do so only through participants and indirect participants. Noteholders will receive all distributions of principal and interest from the indenture trustee or the trustee or eligible lender trustee, as applicable, through participants and indirect participants. Under a book-entry format, noteholders may experience some delay in their receipt of payments, since payments will be forwarded by the trustee to DTC’s nominee. DTC will forward those payments to its participants, which will forward them to indirect participants or noteholders. Noteholders will not be recognized by the trustee as noteholders under the indenture or trust agreement, as applicable, and noteholders will be permitted to exercise the rights of noteholders only indirectly through DTC and its participants.
Under the rules, regulations and procedures creating DTC and affecting its operations, DTC is required to make book-entry transfers of securities among participants on whose behalf it acts with respect to the securities and to receive and transmit principal and interest payments on the securities. Participants and indirect participants with which noteholders have accounts with respect to the securities are likewise required to make book-entry transfers and receive and transmit payments of principal and interest on the securities on behalf of their customers. Accordingly, although noteholders will not possess securities, the DTC rules provide a mechanism by which participants will receive payments and will be able to transfer their interests.
Because DTC can only act on behalf of participants, which in turn act on behalf of indirect participants, the ability of a noteholder to pledge securities to persons or entities that do not participate in the DTC system, or to otherwise act with respect to the securities, may be limited since noteholders will not possess physical certificates for their securities.
DTC has advised us that it will take any action that a noteholder is permitted to take under the indenture or trust agreement, only at the direction of one or more participants to whose DTC accounts the securities are credited. DTC may take conflicting actions on undivided interests to the extent that those actions are taken on behalf of participants whose holdings include undivided interests.
Except as required by law, neither the administrator nor the trustee for any trust will have any liability for the records relating to payments or the payments themselves, made on account of beneficial ownership interests of the securities held by DTC’s nominee, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to those beneficial ownership interests.
Clearstream, Luxembourg is organized under the laws of Luxembourg as a professional depositary. Clearstream, Luxembourg holds securities for its participants and facilitates the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between Clearstream, Luxembourg participants through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of Clearstream, Luxembourg participants. Thus, the need for physical movement of certificates is eliminated. Transactions may be settled in Clearstream, Luxembourg in numerous currencies, including United States dollars. Clearstream, Luxembourg provides to its participants, among other things, services for safekeeping, administration, clearance and settlement of internationally traded securities and securities lending and borrowing. Clearstream, Luxembourg interfaces with domestic markets in several countries. As a professional depositary, Clearstream, Luxembourg is subject to regulation by the Luxembourg Monetary Institute. Clearstream, Luxembourg participants are recognized financial institutions around the world, including underwriters, securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations. Indirect access to Clearstream, Luxembourg is also available to others, such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Clearstream, Luxembourg participant, either directly or indirectly.
The Euroclear System was created in 1968 to hold securities for participants of the Euroclear System and to clear and settle transactions between Euroclear participants through simultaneous electronic book-entry delivery against payment, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates and any risk from lack of simultaneous transfers of securities and cash. Transactions may be settled in numerous currencies, including United States dollars. The Euroclear System includes various other services, including securities lending and borrowing and interfaces with domestic markets in several countries generally similar to the arrangements for cross-market transfers with DTC described above. The Euroclear System is operated by Euroclear Bank, S.A./N.V.
All operations are conducted by the Euroclear operator, and all Euroclear securities clearance accounts and Euroclear cash accounts are accounts with the Euroclear operator. Euroclear participants include banks, central banks, securities brokers and dealers and other professional financial intermediaries. Indirect access to the Euroclear System is also available to other firms that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Euroclear participant, either directly or indirectly.
Securities clearance accounts and cash accounts with the Euroclear operator are governed by the Terms and Conditions Governing Use of Euroclear and the related Operating Procedures of the Euroclear System, and applicable Belgian law. These govern transfers of securities and cash within the Euroclear System, withdrawals of securities and cash from the Euroclear System, and receipts of payments with respect to securities in the Euroclear System. All securities in the Euroclear System are held on a fungible basis without attribution of specific certificates to specific securities clearance accounts. The Euroclear operator acts only on behalf of Euroclear participants, and has no record of or relationship with persons holding through Euroclear participants.
Distributions with respect to securities held through Clearstream, Luxembourg or Euroclear will be credited to the cash accounts of Clearstream, Luxembourg participants or Euroclear participants in accordance with the relevant system’s rules and procedures, to the extent received by its depositary. These distributions will be subject to tax reporting in accordance with relevant United States tax laws and regulations. See “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in this free-writing prospectus. Clearstream, Luxembourg or the Euroclear operator, as the case may be, will take any other action permitted to be taken by a noteholder under the agreement on behalf of a Clearstream, Luxembourg participant or Euroclear participant only in accordance with its relevant rules and procedures and subject to its depositary’s ability to effect these actions on its behalf through DTC.
Although DTC, Clearstream, Luxembourg and Euroclear have agreed to these procedures to facilitate transfers of securities among participants of DTC, Clearstream, Luxembourg and Euroclear, they are under no obligation to perform or continue to perform these procedures. The procedures may therefore be discontinued at any time.
Definitive Notes
The reset rate notes will be issued as definitive notes, rather than in book-entry form to DTC or its nominee, only if one of the following events occurs:
• the administrator advises the indenture trustee in writing that DTC is not willing or able to discharge its responsibilities as depository for the reset rate notes and the administrator is unable to locate a successor;
• the administrator, at its option, elects to terminate the book-entry system through DTC; or
• after the occurrence of an event of default, a servicer default or an administrator default, investors holding a majority of the outstanding principal balance of the reset rate notes, advise the trustee through DTC in writing that the continuation of a book-entry system through DTC or a successor is no longer in the best interest of the holders of these reset rate notes.
Upon the occurrence of any event described in the bullets above, the indenture trustee will be required to notify all applicable noteholders, through DTC participants, of the availability of definitive notes. When DTC surrenders the definitive notes, the trustee will reissue to the noteholders the corresponding notes as definitive notes upon receipt of instructions for re-registration. From then on, payments of principal and interest on the definitive notes will be made by the trustee, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the indenture or trust agreement, directly to the holders of definitive notes in whose names the definitive notes were registered at the close of business on the applicable record date specified in this free-writing prospectus. Payments will be made by check mailed to the address of each holder as it appears on the register maintained by the trustee.
However, the final payment on any definitive note will be made only upon presentation and surrender of that definitive note at the office or agency specified in the notice of final distribution.
Definitive notes will be transferable and exchangeable at the offices of the trustee or of a registrar named in a notice delivered to holders of definitive notes. No service charge will be imposed for any registration of transfer or exchange, but the trustee may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed.
The Notes
The Class A Notes
Distributions of Interest. Interest accrues on the outstanding principal balances of the class A notes at their respective interest rates. Interest accrues during each applicable accrual period and is generally payable quarterly to the class A noteholders on each applicable distribution date; provided, however, that with respect to the reset rate notes and any reset period when any such class of notes is denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, payments of interest will be made as described under “—The Reset Rate Notes—Interest” in this free-writing prospectus. Interest accrued as of any distribution date but not paid on that distribution date is due on the next distribution date together with an amount equal to interest on the unpaid amount at the applicable rate per annum specified in the definition of Class A Note Interest Shortfall in the Glossary. Interest payments on the class A notes for any distribution date are generally funded from (1) Available Funds and (2) amounts on deposit in the reserve account remaining after the distribution of the primary servicing fee and administration fee, and required deposits into the remarketing fee account for that distribution date. See “—Distributions” and “ —Credit Enhancement” below. If these sources are insufficient to pay the Class A Noteholders’ Interest Distribution Amount for that distribution date, the shortfall will be allocated pro rata to the class A noteholders, based upon the total amount of interest then due on each class of class A notes from Available Funds.
The interest rate for each class of floating rate class A notes that remain outstanding, for each accrual period, is equal to the sum of an annual rate of the SOFR Rate and the following applicable spread:
Class of Notes | Spread |
Class A-6A | plus 0.16% |
The interest rate for the class A-6B notes for the accrual period prior to the current reset date was been to an annual interest rate equal to the SOFR Rate plus 0.75% calculated based on the actual number of days elapsed in the related accrual period and a 360-day year (which rate will remain in effect until the earlier to occur of (1) the date on which such class of notes is successfully remarketed and (2) the applicable maturity date for such class of notes).
During their initial reset period, the interest rate for the class A-6C notes has been equal to an annual interest rate equal to three-month LIBOR plus 0.12% calculated based on the actual number of days elapsed in the related accrual period and a 360-day year.
The SOFR Rate is equal to the sum of 90-day Average SOFR and a tenor spread adjustment. The tenor spread adjustment was set in accordance with the LIBOR Act and is a per annum rate equal to 0.26161%. The interest rate for the class A-6B and class A-6C notes for the accrual period prior to the current reset date has been equal to: (i) for each reset period prior to and including the reset period that began on April 25, 2023, an annual rate of three-month LIBOR plus 0.75% per annum, based on the actual number of days elapsed in that accrual period and a 360-day year, and (ii) for the reset period beginning on July 25, 2023, and subsequent reset periods prior to a successful remarketing, an annual rate equal to the SOFR Rate plus 0.75% per annum, based on the actual number of days elapsed in that accrual period and a 360-day year.
If the sum of the SOFR Rate and the applicable spread for a class of floating rate notes is less than 0.00% for any interest accrual period, then the interest rate for the applicable class of floating rate notes for such interest accrual period will be deemed to be 0.00%.
Absent a Failed Remarketing or an exercise of the related call option with respect to the October 25, 2024 reset date and until their next reset date, the interest rate for the class A-6B and class A-6C notes will be equal to the sum of an annual rate of the SOFR Rate (as determined on the second business day before the beginning of that accrual period as described in this free-writing prospectus under “Description of the Notes—The Notes—Distributions of Interest”) plus the applicable spread listed in the table below, in each case, based on the actual number of days elapsed in that accrual period and a 360-day year:
| |
Class A-6B | plus % |
Class A-6C | plus % |
Distributions of Principal. Principal payments are made or allocated to the class A noteholders and any applicable Swap Counterparty on each distribution date in an amount generally equal to the Principal Distribution Amount times the Class A Percentage for that distribution date, until the principal balance of each class of class A notes is reduced to zero (taking into account, if applicable, funds on deposit (exclusive of investment earnings) in any related accumulation account that, if distributed, would reduce the outstanding principal amount of the reset rate notes to zero). Principal payments on the class A notes and to any applicable Swap Counterparty are generally funded from Available Funds and the other sources of funds available for payment described in this free-writing prospectus (subject to all prior required distributions). See “—The Class B Notes—Subordination of the Class B Notes,” “—Distributions” and “—Credit Enhancement” in this free-writing prospectus. If these sources are insufficient to pay the Class A Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount for a distribution date, the shortfall will be added to the principal payable to the class A noteholders and any applicable Swap Counterparty with respect to principal on subsequent distribution dates. Amounts on deposit in the reserve account, other than amounts in excess of the Specified Reserve Account Balance, will not be available to make principal payments on the class A notes except at maturity of the applicable class of notes or on the final distribution upon termination of the trust.
Principal payments generally are applied on each distribution date in the priorities set forth under “—Distributions” below.
The class A-1 notes, the class A-2 notes, the class A-3 notes, the class A-4 notes and the class A-5 notes have been paid in full and will receive no further distributions from the trust.
As of the July 2024 distribution date, there were no sums on deposit in any accumulation account relating to the class A-6B or class A-6C notes. There will be no payment of principal of the class A-6B or class A-6C notes from the trust on the current reset date.
However, notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, following the occurrence of an event of default and the exercise by the indenture trustee of remedies under the indenture, principal payments on the class A notes and to each applicable Swap Counterparty will be made pro rata, without preference or priority, except that amounts on deposit in an accumulation account will be applied only to the payment of principal of the reset rate notes.
The aggregate outstanding principal balance of each class of class A notes will be due and payable in full on its maturity date. The actual date on which the aggregate outstanding principal and accrued interest of a class of class A notes is paid may be earlier than its maturity date, based on a variety of factors as described in “Risk Factors” in this free-writing prospectus.
The Class B Notes
Distributions of Interest. Interest accrues on the principal balance of the class B notes at the class B note interest rate. Interest accrues during each accrual period and will be payable quarterly to the class B noteholders on each distribution date. Interest accrued as of any distribution date but not paid on that distribution date is due on the next distribution date, together with an amount equal to interest on the unpaid amount at the class B note interest rate. Interest payments on the class B notes for any distribution date are generally funded from Available Funds and other sources of funds available for payment described in this free-writing prospectus (subject to all prior required distributions). See “—The Class B Notes—Subordination of the Class B Notes,” “—Distributions” and “—Credit Enhancement—Reserve Account” in this free-writing prospectus.
The annual interest rate for the class B notes with respect to each accrual period is equal to 30-day Average SOFR,
plus a tenor spread adjustment of 0.11448% per annum, plus 0.50% as determined for that accrual period as described below under
“—Determination of Indices—SOFR”.
Distributions of Principal. Principal payments will be made to the class B noteholders on each distribution date on and after the Stepdown Date, provided that a Trigger Event has not occurred and is not continuing, in an amount generally equal to the Class B Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount for that distribution date. Principal payable on any distribution date will generally be funded from the portion of Available Funds and the other sources of funds available for payment described in this free-writing prospectus (subject to all prior required distributions). Amounts on deposit in the reserve account (other than amounts in excess of the Specified Reserve Account Balance) will not be available to make principal payments on the class B notes except at their maturity and on the final distribution upon termination of the trust. See “—Distributions” and “—Credit Enhancement—Reserve Account” below.
The outstanding principal balance of the class B notes will be due and payable in full on the class B maturity date to the extent of Available Funds. The actual date on which the final distribution on the class B notes will be made may be earlier than the class B maturity date, however, based on a variety of factors as described in “Risk Factors” in this free-writing prospectus.
Subordination of the Class B Notes. On any distribution date, distributions of interest on the class B notes will be subordinated to the payment of interest on the class A notes and amounts, if any, due to a Swap Counterparty for trust swap payments, and payment of the Class B Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount will be subordinated to the payment of both interest and the applicable Class A Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount, if any, due to a Swap Counterparty for trust swap payments and any required deposits into any supplemental interest account and any investment reserve account. Consequently, on any distribution date, Available Funds and amounts on deposit in the reserve account remaining after payment of the primary servicing fee, the administration fee and any required deposits to the remarketing fee account will be applied to the payment of interest on the class A notes prior to any payment of interest on the class B notes, and no payments of the principal balance on the class B notes will be made on such distribution date until the class A notes have received the applicable Class A Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount. In addition, even after the class A notes have been paid in full (or sufficient amounts are on deposit in any accumulation account to pay the outstanding principal amount in full of the reset rate notes), the Class B Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount will be subordinated to the payment of any required deposits into any supplemental interest account and any investment reserve account.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if
(1) on any distribution date following distributions under clauses (a) through (f) under “—Distributions—Distributions from the Collection Account” to be made on that distribution date, the outstanding principal balance of the class A notes, less amounts, other than investment earnings, on deposit in any accumulation account, would be in excess of:
| • | the outstanding principal balance of the trust student loans plus |
| • | any accrued but unpaid interest on the trust student loans as of the last day of the related collection period plus |
| • | the balance of the reserve account on the distribution date following those distributions made under clauses (a) through (f) under “—Distributions—Distributions from the Collection Account” below minus |
| • | the Specified Reserve Account Balance and the Supplemental Interest Account Deposit Amount for that distribution date, or |
(2) an event of default under the indenture affecting the class A notes has occurred and is continuing,
then, until the conditions described in (1) or (2) above no longer exist, the amounts on deposit in the collection account and the reserve account will be applied on that distribution date to the payment of the Class A Noteholders’ Distribution Amount and any Supplemental Interest Account Deposit Amount before any amounts are applied to the payment of the Class B Noteholders’ Distribution Amount.
The Reset Rate Notes
General. The applicable currency and interest rate for each class of reset rate notes will be reset from time to time in a currency and at an interest rate determined using the procedures described below. During its current reset period the class A-6B notes have been denominated in U.S. Dollars and have borne interest at a floating rate. During its initial reset period the class A-6C notes have been denominated in U.S. Dollars and have borne interest at a floating rate.
Interest.
Interest on a class of reset rate notes, during any reset period when such reset rate notes bear interest at a fixed rate, will accrue daily and will be computed based on:
| • | if such reset rate notes are denominated in U.S. Dollars, a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months; or |
| • | if such reset rate notes are denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, generally, the Actual/Actual (ISMA) accrual method as described in “—Determination of Indices” below or another day-count convention as set forth on the related Remarketing Terms Determination Date. |
Interest on a class of reset rate notes during any reset period when such reset rate notes are denominated in U.S. Dollars and bear interest at a floating rate based on SOFR (as will be the case during the next reset period ending on January 27, 2025) will be calculated using the SOFR Rate that is determined for all accrual periods in the same manner as for the SOFR-based class A notes as described above under “Description of the Notes—The Notes—The Class A Notes.” Interest will accrue daily and will be computed based on the actual number of days elapsed and a 360-day year. Interest on a class of reset rate notes, during any reset period when such reset rate notes bear interest at a floating rate based on EURIBOR or another index, will be computed as described under “—Determination of Indices” in this free-writing prospectus.
An accrual period during any reset period when a class of reset rate notes bears interest at a floating rate, including both U.S. Dollar and non-U.S. Dollar denominated notes, will begin on a distribution date and end on the day before the next distribution date. An accrual period during any reset period when a class of reset rate notes bears a fixed rate of interest, including both U.S. Dollar and non-U.S. Dollar denominated notes, will begin on the 25th day of the month of the immediately preceding distribution date and end on the 24th day of the month of the then-current distribution date. The accrual periods and the distribution dates for payments of interest for a class of reset rate notes may be monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual, as specified on the related Remarketing Terms Determination Date as described under “—Reset Periods” below. Interest and principal will be payable or allocated, as applicable, on each applicable distribution date.
However, during any reset period when a class of reset rate notes is denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, if a distribution date for such reset rate notes coincides with a reset date, payments of interest will be made to the related reset rate noteholders on the second business day following that distribution date (which we sometimes refer to as the “special reset payment date” in this free-writing prospectus), together with additional interest on the applicable principal balance at the related interest rate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for any reset period when a class of reset rate notes are denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, following a reset date upon which a Failed Remarketing has occurred, up to and including the reset date resulting in a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option for such reset rate notes (as described below), payments of interest and principal to the related reset rate noteholders will be made on the special reset payment date without the payment of any additional interest.
Principal. In general, payments of principal will be made or allocated to each class of reset rate notes on each distribution date as described above. If, on any distribution date, principal would be payable to a class of reset rate notes during any reset period when they are then structured not to receive a payment of principal until the end of the related reset period (as will be the case, generally, but not exclusively, whenever such class of reset rate notes bears a fixed rate of interest), principal generally will be allocated to such class of reset rate notes and deposited into the related accumulation account until the next related reset date, when such amounts will be distributed to the related reset rate noteholders or to the related Swap Counterparty, as applicable, on or about that reset date. See “Additional Information Regarding the Notes—The Reset Rate Notes—Principal” in this free-writing prospectus.
Reset Periods. The initial reset date for the class A-6B notes was January 25, 2018. The initial reset date for the class A-6C notes was April 25, 2018. We refer to these dates, together with each date thereafter on which a class of reset rate notes may be reset with respect to the currency and/or interest rate mode, as a “reset date” and each period between the reset dates for the reset rate notes as a “reset period.” All reset dates will occur on a distribution date, and each reset period will end on the day before a distribution date. However, no reset period may end after October 24, 2040 which is the day before the maturity date for each class of reset rate notes. Depending on the rate and timing of prepayments on the trust student loans, the reset rate notes may be repaid earlier than the next related reset date.
The applicable currency, interest rate and the frequency of principal payments on a class of reset rate notes will be reset as of each related reset date as determined by:
| • | the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, with respect to the length of the reset period, the applicable currency (U.S. Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling or another currency), whether the interest rate is fixed or floating and, if floating, the applicable interest rate index, the day-count convention, the applicable interest rate determination dates, the interval between interest rate change dates during each accrual period, whether the reset rate notes will be structured to amortize periodically or to receive a payment of principal only at the end of the reset period, and the related All Hold Rate (if applicable); and |
| • | the remarketing agent with respect to the determination of the applicable fixed rate of interest or Spread to the chosen interest rate index, as applicable. |
In the event that a class of reset rate notes are reset to pay (or continues to pay) in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, such reset rate notes are said to be in foreign exchange mode. In that case, the administrator will be responsible for arranging, on behalf of the trust, the required currency swaps agreement to hedge, in whole or in part, against the currency exchange risks that result from the required payment to the related reset rate noteholders in a currency other than U.S. Dollars and, together with the remarketing agent, for selecting one or more Eligible Swap Counterparties. See “—Foreign Exchange Mode” below.
In the event that a class of reset rate notes is reset to bear (or continues to bear) a fixed rate of interest, the administrator will be responsible for arranging, on behalf of the trust, the required interest rate swap agreements to hedge the basis risk that results from the payment of a fixed rate of interest on such reset rate notes and, together with the remarketing agent, for selecting one or more Eligible Swap Counterparties. See “—Fixed Rate Mode” below. In the event that a class of reset rate notes is reset to bear (or continues to bear) a floating rate of interest, the Spread will be determined in the manner described below for each reset period. See also “—Spread Determination Date” below.
Each reset period will be no less than three months and will always end on the day before a distribution date. Each distribution date when the reset rate noteholders will receive interest and/or principal payments will be determined by the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, on the applicable Remarketing Terms Determination Date in connection with the establishment of each reset period.
Absent a Failed Remarketing, any reset rate noteholders that wish to be repaid on a reset date for their class of reset rate notes will be able to obtain a 100% repayment of principal by tendering their reset rate notes pursuant to the remarketing process; provided, that tender is deemed mandatory when that class of reset rate notes is denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars during either the then-current or the immediately following reset period, as more fully discussed below. If there is a Failed Remarketing of a class of reset rate notes, however, the related reset rate noteholders will not be permitted to exercise any remedies as a result of the failure of their reset rate notes to be remarketed on the related reset date.
Interest on each class of reset rate notes during each reset period after the applicable initial reset period will accrue and be payable either:
| • | at a floating interest rate, in which case such reset rate notes are said to be in floating rate mode, or |
| • | at a fixed interest rate, in which case such reset rate notes are said to be in fixed rate mode, |
in each case as determined by the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator and in accordance with the remarketing agreement and the applicable remarketing agency agreement.
Remarketing Terms Determination Date. On the Remarketing Terms Determination Date, unless notice of the exercise of the call option described below has already been given, the remarketing agent will notify the related reset rate noteholders whether tender is deemed mandatory or optional for their class of reset rate notes. Additionally, in consultation with the administrator, the remarketing agent will establish the following terms for such reset rate notes by the Remarketing Terms Determination Date, which terms will be applicable during the upcoming reset period for such class of reset rate notes:
| • | the weighted average life of such reset rate notes under several assumed prepayment scenarios; |
| • | the name and contact information of the remarketing agent; |
| • | the next reset date and reset period; |
| • | the applicable minimum denomination and additional increments; |
| • | the interest rate mode (i.e., fixed rate or floating rate); |
| • | the applicable currency; |
| • | if in foreign exchange mode, the identities of the Eligible Swap Counterparties from which bids will be solicited; |
| • | if in foreign exchange mode, the applicable distribution dates on which interest and principal will be paid to the related reset rate noteholders, if other than quarterly; |
| • | whether such reset rate notes will be structured to amortize periodically or to receive a payment of principal only at the end of the related reset period (as will be the case, generally, but not exclusively, whenever such reset rate notes bear a fixed rate of interest); |
| • | if in floating rate mode, the applicable interest rate index; |
| • | if in floating rate mode, the interval between interest rate change dates; |
| • | if in floating rate mode, the applicable interest rate determination date; |
| • | if in fixed rate mode, the applicable fixed rate pricing benchmark; |
| • | if in fixed rate mode, the identities of the Eligible Swap Counterparties from which bids will be solicited; |
| • | if in floating rate mode, whether there will be a swap agreement and if so the identities of the Eligible Swap Counterparties from which bids will be solicited; |
| • | the applicable interest rate day-count basis; and |
| • | the related All Hold Rate, if applicable. |
Any interest rate mode other than a floating rate based on a SOFR-based rate or a commercial paper rate will require that the Rating Agency Condition be satisfied.
The remarketing agent will communicate this information by written notice, through DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg, as applicable, to the reset rate noteholders, the indenture trustee and the rating agencies on the related Remarketing Terms Determination Date.
If a class of reset rate notes are denominated in U.S. Dollars during the then-current reset period and will continue to be denominated in U.S. Dollars during the immediately following reset period (as will be the case with respect to the class A-6B and class A-6C notes on the October 25, 2024 reset date), on each related Remarketing Terms Determination Date, the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, will establish the related All Hold Rate. In this event, on or before the applicable Notice Date, the related reset rate noteholders will have the option to deliver a Hold Notice. A Hold Notice must be delivered with respect to all or any portion of that class of reset rate notes to be retained by the related reset rate noteholder. All or any portion of such notes that are not affirmatively specified in a timely and validly delivered Hold Notice as being retained by the related reset rate noteholder will be deemed to have been tendered. See “—Tender of Reset Rate Notes; Remarketing Procedures” below. If a class of reset rate notes either is in foreign exchange mode during the then-current reset period or will be reset into foreign exchange mode on the immediately following reset date, the related reset rate noteholders will be deemed to have tendered their reset rate notes on the related reset date (including on the initial reset date for such class of reset rate notes), regardless of any desire by those noteholders to retain their ownership of any of that class of reset rate notes, and no All Hold Rate will be applicable.
If applicable, the All Hold Rate will be the minimum rate of interest that will be effective for that class of reset rate notes during the upcoming reset period. In the event that the remarketing agent does not receive Hold Notices with respect to all of the related reset rate notes for the next applicable reset period, and the rate of interest using the Spread or fixed rate of interest established on the Spread Determination Date is higher than the All Hold Rate, all related reset rate notes for which a Hold Notice was delivered will be entitled to the higher rate of interest on those reset rate notes for the upcoming reset period. If 100% of the related reset rate noteholders elect to hold all of their reset rate notes for the next applicable reset period, the rate of interest for such class of reset rate notes during the upcoming reset period will be the All Hold Rate.
If the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, is unable to determine the terms set forth above that are required to be established on the applicable Remarketing Terms Determination Date, then, unless the holder of the call option chooses to exercise its call option, a Failed Remarketing for such reset rate notes will be declared on the related Spread Determination Date, all noteholders will retain their notes, the Failed Remarketing Rate will apply, and a reset period of three months will be established.
In addition, unless notice of the exercise of the call option has already been given, the administrator, not less than fifteen nor more than thirty calendar days prior to any remarketing terms determination date, will provide the required notices as described under “—Tender of Reset Rate Notes; Remarketing Procedures” below.
If a failed remarketing has been declared with respect to a class of reset rate notes, all such reset rate notes will be deemed to have been held by the holders on the related reset date at the Failed Remarketing Rate regardless of any desire to tender their notes or any mandatory tender of their notes. With respect to any Failed Remarketing, the next reset period will be established as a three-month period.
Call Option. Each class of reset rate notes will be subject, as of each reset date, to a call option, held by Navient Corporation or one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, for 100% of such reset rate notes exercisable at a price equal to 100% of the principal balance of that class of reset rate notes, less all amounts distributed to the related reset rate noteholders as a payment of principal, plus any accrued and unpaid interest not paid by the trust on the applicable reset date. The call option may be exercised by Navient Corporation or one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries at any time prior to the determination of the related Spread or fixed rate or the declaration of a Failed Remarketing on the related Spread Determination Date. Once notice is given, the holder of the call option may not rescind its exercise of that call option. If the call option is exercised with respect to a class of reset rate notes, the interest rate on such class of reset rate notes will be the Call Rate and the applicable currency will be U.S. Dollars. In that event, a reset period of three months will be established for such class of reset rate notes, at the end of which the holder of the call option may either remarket such reset rate notes pursuant to the remarketing procedures set forth below or retain those notes for one or more successive three-month reset periods at the existing Call Rate.
The interest rate will continue to apply for each reset period while the holder of an exercised call option retains such class of reset rate notes.
Spread Determination Date. On each Spread Determination Date, the remarketing agent will set the applicable Spread above or below the applicable index (if the applicable class of reset rate notes will be in floating rate mode during the next reset period) or the applicable fixed rate of interest (if the applicable class of reset rate notes will be in fixed rate mode during the next reset period), in either case, at a rate that, in the reasonable opinion of the remarketing agent, will enable all of the tendered reset rate notes to be remarketed by the remarketing agent at 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal balance of such class of reset rate notes. Also, if applicable, the administrator and the remarketing agent will select from the bids received from the Eligible Swap Counterparty or Counterparties, with which the trust will enter into one or more swap agreements to hedge basis and/or currency risks for that class of reset rate notes during the next related reset period. Furthermore, if a class of reset rate notes is to be reset to foreign exchange mode, the currency exchange rate, the Extension Rate due to the related currency Swap Counterparty and the Failed Remarketing Rate for the applicable reset period will be determined pursuant to the terms of the related currency swap agreement. If required for the immediately following reset period, on or before the related Spread Determination Date the administrator will arrange for new or additional securities identification codes to be obtained for the applicable class of reset rate notes.
In addition, on each spread determination date, the remarketing agent will send a written notice to DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg, as applicable, with instructions to distribute such notice to its related participants in accordance with DTC’s, Euroclear’s and Clearstream, Luxembourg’s respective procedures, the indenture trustee, and the rating agencies setting forth the applicable spread or fixed rate of interest, as the case may be, any applicable currency exchange rate, and, if applicable, the identity of any swap counterparty or counterparties, including the floating rate (or rates) of interest to be due to each selected swap counterparty on each distribution date during the upcoming reset period as well as the extension rate and failed remarketing rate, if applicable.
Timeline. The following chart shows a timeline of the remarketing process:
Failed Remarketing. There will be a failed remarketing with respect to a class of reset rate notes with respect to the October 25, 2024 reset date if:
| • | the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, cannot determine the applicable required reset terms on or before the remarketing terms determination date; |
| • | the remarketing agent cannot establish the required spread on the spread determination date; |
| • | the remarketing agent is unable to remarket some or all of the tendered reset rate notes at the spread set by the remarketing agent, or one or more committed purchasers default on their purchase obligations and the remarketing agent chooses not to purchase such reset rate notes itself; |
| • | any rating agency then rating the notes has not confirmed or upgraded its then-current rating of any class of notes, if such confirmation is required; or |
| • | certain other conditions specified in the remarketing agreement are not satisfied. |
In the event a failed remarketing is declared with respect to a class of reset rate notes:
| • | all holders of such class of reset rate notes will retain their notes, including in all deemed mandatory tender situations; |
| • | the related interest rate for such class of reset rate notes will be reset to a failed remarketing rate of the SOFR Rate plus 0.75% per annum; and |
| • | the related reset period will be set at three months. |
Foreign Exchange Mode. If the a class of reset rate notes is to be reset in foreign exchange mode on the related reset date, the administrator, on behalf of the trust, will enter into one or more currency swap agreements with Eligible Swap Counterparties:
| • | to facilitate the trust’s ability to pay principal and interest in the applicable currency; |
| • | to pay additional interest at the applicable interest rate and in the applicable currency on such reset rate notes from and including the related reset date to, but excluding the second business day following the related reset date; and |
| • | to facilitate the exchange of all secondary market trade proceeds from a successful remarketing (or proceeds from the exercise of the call option) on the applicable reset date to the applicable currency. |
Under any currency swap agreement between the trust and one or more swap counterparties, each related swap counterparty will be obligated to pay to the trust or a paying agent on behalf of the trust, as applicable:
| • | on the effective date of such currency swap agreement for the related reset date, the U.S. Dollar equivalent of all secondary market trade proceeds received from purchasers of the related class of reset rate notes using the exchange rate established on the effective date of such currency swap agreement; |
| • | on or before each distribution date, (1) the rate of interest on the related class of reset rate notes multiplied by the outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes denominated in the applicable currency and (2) the currency equivalent of the U.S. Dollars such swap counterparty concurrently receives from the trust as a payment of principal allocated to the related class of reset rate notes, including, on the maturity date for the related class of reset rate notes, if a currency swap agreement is then in effect, the remaining outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes, but only to the extent that the required U.S. Dollar equivalent amount is received from the trust on such date, using the exchange rate established on the applicable effective date of the currency swap agreement; |
| • | with respect to a distribution date that is also a reset date, other than for distribution dates during a reset period following a reset date upon which a failed remarketing has occurred, up to and including the reset date resulting in a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option, additional interest at the applicable interest rate and in the applicable currency for the related class of reset rate notes from and including the related reset date to, but excluding, the second business day following the related reset date; and |
| • | on the reset date corresponding to a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option of the related class of reset rate notes, the currency equivalent of all U.S. Dollar secondary market trade proceeds or proceeds from the exercise of the call option received as of that reset date, as applicable, using the exchange rate established on the effective date of the applicable currency swap agreement for that reset date. |
In return, each related swap counterparty will receive from the trust:
| • | on the effective date of such currency swap agreement for the related reset date, all secondary market trade proceeds received from purchasers of the related class of reset rate notes in the applicable currency; |
| • | on or before each distribution date, (1) an interest rate of the SOFR Rate plus or minus a spread, as determined from the bidding process described below, multiplied by that swap counterpart’s pro rata share, as applicable, of the U.S. Dollar equivalent of the outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes, and (2) that swap counterpart’s pro rata share of all payments of principal in U.S. Dollars that are allocated to the related class of reset rate notes; provided that, all principal payments allocated to such notes on any distribution date will be deposited into the related accumulation account and paid to each related swap counterparty on or about the next reset date (including all amounts required to be deposited in the related accumulation account on the related reset date), but excluding all investment earnings thereon; and |
| • | on the reset date corresponding to a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option of the related class of reset rate notes, all U.S. Dollar secondary market trade proceeds or proceeds from the exercise of the call option, as applicable, received (1) from the remarketing agent that the remarketing agent either received directly from the purchasers of the related class of reset rate notes, if in U.S. Dollars; (2) from the new swap counterparty or counterparties pursuant to the related currency swap agreements for the upcoming reset period, if in a currency other than U.S. Dollars; or (3) from the holder of the call option, as applicable. |
All such currency swap agreements will terminate, generally, on the earliest to occur of:
| • | the next succeeding related reset date resulting in a successful remarketing; |
| • | the purchase of all outstanding notes on a reset date, following the exercise of a call option; |
| • | the distribution date on which the outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes is reduced to zero, excluding for such purpose all amounts on deposit in the related accumulation account; or |
| • | the maturity date of the related class of reset rate notes. |
Any applicable currency swap agreement may also terminate as a result of the optional purchase of the trust student loans by the servicer or an auction of the trust student loans by the indenture trustee. No currency swap agreement will terminate solely due to the declaration of a Failed Remarketing.
The remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, in determining the counterparty or counterparties to the required currency swap agreements, will solicit bids regarding the SOFR-based interest rate, extension rate and other terms from at least three eligible swap counterparties and will select the lowest of these bids to provide the currency swap agreements. If the lowest bidder specifies a notional amount that is less than the outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes, the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, may select more than one eligible swap counterparty, but only to the extent that such additional eligible swap counterparties have provided the next lowest received bid or bids, and enter into more than one currency swap agreement to fully hedge the then outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes. On or before the spread determination date, the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, will select the swap counterparty or counterparties.
The terms of all currency swap agreements must satisfy the Rating Agency Condition. The inability to obtain any required currency swap agreement, either as a result of the failure to satisfy the Rating Agency Condition or otherwise, will, in the absence of an exercise of the call option, result in the declaration of a Failed Remarketing on the related reset date; provided that, if the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, on or before the Remarketing Terms Determination Date, determines that it is unlikely that currency swap agreements satisfying the above criteria will be obtainable on the related reset date, the related class of reset rate notes must be reset to U.S. Dollars on the related reset date. No new currency swap agreements will be entered into by the trust for the applicable reset period following an exercise of the call option.
If the related class of reset rate notes is either currently in foreign exchange mode or to be reset into foreign exchange mode, they will be subject to a mandatory tender by the holders thereof on the related reset dates. Affected reset rate noteholders desiring to retain some or all of their reset rate notes will be required to repurchase such reset rate notes through the remarketing agent. However, such reset rate noteholders may or may not be allocated their desired amount of reset rate notes as part of the remarketing process. Holders of reset rate notes denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars will receive all principal and interest payments due from the trust as well as payment of any outstanding principal amount payable as a result of the remarketing process on or about the second business day following the reset date as a result of the required delay in payment through Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg.
If a distribution date for a class of reset rate notes when such notes are denominated in a foreign currency coincides with a reset date, due to time zone differences and for purposes of making payments through Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg, all principal payments and any remaining interest payments due from the trust will be made to the related reset rate noteholders on or before the second business day following such distribution date. We sometimes refer to such date as the special reset payment date. Under the currency swap agreement for such reset period, the reset rate noteholders will be entitled to receive such amounts plus approximately two additional business days of interest at the interest rate for the prior reset period in the applicable non-U.S. Dollar currency calculated from the period including the related reset date to, but excluding, the second business day following such reset date. However, if a currency swap agreement is terminated, the trust will not pay to the related noteholders interest for those additional days. In addition, for any reset period following a reset date upon which a failed remarketing has occurred, up to and including the reset date resulting in a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option for that class of reset rate notes as described below, payments of interest and principal to the related reset rate noteholders will be made on the special reset payment date without the payment of any additional interest.
In such event, the trust, in consultation with the administrator, will attempt to enter into a substitute currency swap agreement with similar currency exchange terms in order to obtain sufficient funds to provide for an open market purchase of the amount of the applicable currency needed to make the required payments.
In the event no currency swap agreement is in effect on any applicable distribution date or related reset date when payments are required to be made, the trust will be obligated to engage in a spot currency transaction to exchange U.S. Dollars at the current exchange rate for the applicable currency in order to make payments of interest and principal on the applicable class of reset rate notes in that currency.
In addition, the indenture will require that, on each reset date that involves a mandatory tender, the trust obtains a favorable opinion of counsel with respect to certain tax related matters; however, prospective purchasers are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisors as to the tax consequences to them of purchasing, owning or disposing of a class of reset rate notes.
Floating Rate Mode. If, following a successful remarketing, the a class of reset rate notes will be denominated in U.S. Dollars and are reset to bear a floating rate of interest, then, during the corresponding reset period, the reset rate notes will bear interest at a per annum rate equal to the applicable interest rate index, plus or minus the applicable Spread, as determined on the relevant Spread Determination Date.
In addition, if the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, determines that it would be in the best interest of the trust based on then-current market conditions during any reset period when a class of reset rate notes bears a floating rate of interest, or if otherwise required to satisfy the Rating Agency Condition, the trust will enter into one or more interest rate swap agreements with Eligible Swap Counterparties for the next reset period to hedge some or all of the basis risk. In exchange for providing payments to the trust at the applicable interest rate index plus the related Spread, each Swap Counterparty will be entitled to receive on each distribution date a payment from the trust equal to the SOFR Rate plus or minus a spread, which must satisfy the Rating Agency Condition. In the selection of the Swap Counterparties and the establishment of the applicable spread to the SOFR Rate, the remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, generally will use the procedures set forth under “—Foreign Exchange Mode” above.
Fixed Rate Mode. If, following a successful remarketing, a class of reset rate notes will be denominated in U.S. Dollars and are reset to bear a fixed rate of interest, then the applicable fixed rate of interest for the corresponding reset period will be determined on the Spread Determination Date by adding:
| • | the applicable spread as determined by the remarketing agent on the Spread Determination Date; and |
| • | the yield to maturity on the Spread Determination Date of the applicable fixed rate pricing benchmark, selected by the remarketing agent, as having an expected weighted average life based on a scheduled maturity at the next reset date, which would be used in accordance with customary financial practice in pricing new issues of asset-backed securities of comparable average life, provided, that the remarketing agent shall establish that fixed rate equal to the rate that, in the reasonable opinion of the remarketing agent, will enable all of the tendered reset rate notes to be remarketed by the remarketing agent at 100% of their outstanding principal balance. However, that fixed rate of interest will in no event be lower than the related All Hold Rate, if applicable. |
Interest on a class of reset rate notes during any reset period when they bear a fixed rate of interest and are denominated in U.S. Dollars generally will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. Interest on the related class of reset rate notes during any reset period when it bears a fixed rate of interest and is denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars generally will be calculated based on the Actual/Actual (ISMA) accrual method as described under “—Determination of Indices” below, or another day-count convention as may be established on the related Remarketing Terms Determination Date. This interest will be payable on each distribution date at the applicable fixed rate of interest, as determined on the Spread Determination Date, during the relevant reset period.
In addition, if, following a successful remarketing, a class of reset rate notes will bear a fixed rate of interest during the next related reset period, the trust will enter into one or more interest rate swap agreements with one or more Eligible Swap Counterparties on the related reset date to facilitate the trust’s ability to pay interest at a fixed rate, and any such interest rate swap will be made as part of any required currency swap agreement as described in “Additional Information Regarding the Notes—The Reset Rate Notes—Foreign Exchange Mode” in this free-writing prospectus. Each of these interest rate swap agreements will terminate, generally, on the earliest to occur of:
| • | the next succeeding reset date, if the related class of reset rate notes is then denominated in U.S. Dollars, or the next succeeding reset date resulting in a successful remarketing, if that class is then in foreign exchange mode; |
| • | the related reset date for which the call option is exercised; |
| • | the distribution date on which the outstanding principal balance of the related class of reset rate notes is reduced to zero (including as the result of the optional purchase of the remaining trust student loans by the servicer or an auction of the trust student loans by the indenture trustee); or |
| • | the maturity date of the related class of reset rate notes. |
No interest rate swap agreement with respect to a class of reset rate notes, if such notes are then in foreign exchange mode, will terminate solely due to the declaration of a failed remarketing. Each interest rate swap agreement must satisfy the rating agency condition. No new interest rate swap agreement will be entered into by the trust for any reset period where the call option has been exercised. The remarketing agent, in consultation with the administrator, generally will use procedures similar to those set forth above under “—Foreign Exchange Mode” in the selection of the related swap counterparties and the establishment of the applicable spread to the SOFR Rate.
In exchange for providing a payment equal to interest at the fixed rate due to a class of reset rate notes, the related swap counterparty will be entitled to receive on each distribution date a payment from the trust, as a trust swap payment, in an amount based on the SOFR Rate, plus or minus a spread, as determined from the bidding process described above.
Allocation of Principal to Accumulation Account. If, on any distribution date, principal would be payable to a class of reset rate notes during any reset period when such notes are then structured not to receive a payment of principal until the end of the related reset period (as will be the case, generally, but not exclusively, whenever a class of reset rate notes bears a fixed rate of interest), principal generally will be allocated to such class of reset rate notes and deposited into the accumulation account. Those principal amounts will remain in the related accumulation account until the next reset date for such class of reset rate notes, unless there occurs, prior to that reset date, an optional termination of the trust, an optional purchase of the remaining trust student loans by the servicer or a successful auction of the remaining trust student loans by the indenture trustee or payment of principal on the notes is accelerated following an event of default. On such reset date, all amounts (exclusive of investment earnings) then on deposit in the accumulation account, including any allocation of principal made on that distribution date, will be distributed to the related reset rate noteholders, as of the related record date, in reduction of principal of that class of reset rate notes (or if in foreign exchange mode, on or about that reset date to the related Swap Counterparty, in exchange for the equivalent amount of the applicable non-U.S. Dollar currency to be paid to the related reset rate noteholders on or about that reset date).
However, in the event that on any distribution date the amount (exclusive of investment earnings) on deposit in the accumulation account would equal the outstanding principal balance (or if in foreign exchange mode, the U.S. Dollar equivalent thereof) of the related class of reset rate notes, then no additional amounts will be deposited into the accumulation account, and all amounts therein, exclusive of investment earnings, will be distributed on the next reset date to the related reset rate noteholders (or if in foreign exchange mode, on or about that reset date to the related currency Swap Counterparty, in exchange for the equivalent amount of the applicable non-U.S. Dollar currency to be paid to the related reset rate noteholders on or about that reset date). On that reset date the outstanding principal balance of that class of reset rate notes will be reduced to zero. Amounts (exclusive of investment earnings) on deposit in the accumulation account may be used only to pay principal on the related class of reset rate notes (or to make payments to the related currency Swap Counterparty, but solely in exchange for the equivalent amount of the applicable non-U.S. Dollar currency at the conversion rate set forth in the currency swap agreement) and for no other purpose. All investment earnings on deposit in the accumulation account will be withdrawn on each distribution date and deposited into the collection account.
Whenever amounts are deposited into or are on deposit in the accumulation account, the indenture trustee, subject to sufficient available funds therefor, will deposit into the supplemental interest account the Supplemental Interest Account Deposit Amount as described under “—Distributions” below.
Tender of Reset Rate Notes; Remarketing Procedures. On the closing date, the trust, the administrator and the initial remarketing agents entered into a remarketing agreement for the remarketing of each class of reset rate notes by the initial remarketing agents. Pursuant to the remarketing agreement, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc. each initially agreed to act as remarketing agent. Lehman Brothers Inc. no longer acts as a remarketing agent. The administrator, in its sole discretion, may change or remove a remarketing agent or, if at any time, there is more than one remarketing agent, designate a lead remarketing agent for a class of reset rate notes and any reset period at any time on or before the related Remarketing Terms Determination Date. The administrator exercised this right and appointed BofA Securities, Inc. (as successor in interest to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated) as a remarketing agent pursuant to the remarketing agreement dated as of January 11, 2018. In addition, effective March 26, 2018, the administrator exercised its right and removed Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as a remarketing agent. In addition, the administrator will appoint one or more additional remarketing agents, if necessary, for a reset date when a class of reset rate notes will be remarketed in a currency other than U.S. Dollars. Furthermore, the remarketing agent may resign at any time provided that no resignation may become effective on a date that is later than 15 business days prior to the next Remarketing Terms Determination Date.
On each Remarketing Terms Determination Date, the trust, the administrator and the remarketing agent will enter into a remarketing agency agreement that will set forth certain terms of the remarketing for the related class of reset rate notes, and on the related Spread Determination Date (unless a Failed Remarketing is declared, Hold Notices relating to 100% of the applicable class of reset rate notes have been timely delivered, or the call option has been exercised with respect to the related reset date), that remarketing agency agreement will be supplemented to include all other required terms of the related remarketing for the applicable class of reset rate notes.
On the reset date that commences each reset period, if the reset rate notes are not subject to mandatory tender, each reset rate note will be automatically tendered, or deemed tendered, to the remarketing agent for remarketing by the remarketing agent on the reset date at 100% of its outstanding principal balance, unless the holder, by delivery of a hold notice, if applicable, elects not to tender its reset rate note. If the reset rate notes are held in book-entry form, 100% of the outstanding principal balance of the reset rate notes will be paid in accordance with the standard procedures of DTC, which currently provide for payments in same-day funds or procedures of Euroclear and Clearstream, Luxembourg which, due to time zone differences, will be required to provide for payment of principal and interest due on the related distribution date approximately two business days following the reset date, and, with respect to each reset date, other than for any reset period following a reset date upon which a failed remarketing has occurred, up to and including the reset date resulting in a successful remarketing or an exercise of the call option, additional interest at the applicable interest rate and in the applicable non-U.S. Dollar currency from and including the related reset date to, but excluding, the second business day following such reset date. Beneficial owners that tender their reset rate notes through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other institution, other than the remarketing agent, may be required to pay fees or commissions to such institution. If a beneficial owner has an account at the remarketing agent and tenders its reset rate notes through that account, the beneficial owner will not be required to pay any fee or commission to that remarketing agent.
If applicable, the hold notice must be received by the remarketing agent during the period commencing on the remarketing terms determination date and ending on the notice date. To ensure that a hold notice is received on a particular day, the beneficial owner must direct its broker or other designated direct or indirect participant to give the hold notice before the broker’s cut-off time for accepting instructions for that day. Different firms may have different cutoff times for accepting instructions from their customers. Accordingly, beneficial owners should consult the brokers or other direct or indirect participants through which they own their interests in the reset rate notes for the cut-off times for those brokers or participants. A delivered hold notice will be irrevocable, but will be subject to a mandatory tender of the reset rate notes pursuant to any exercise of the call option. If a hold notice is not timely received for any reason by the remarketing agent on the notice date, the beneficial owner of a class of reset rate notes will be deemed to have elected to tender such note for remarketing by the remarketing agent. All of the reset rate notes of the applicable class, whether or not tendered, will bear interest upon the same terms.
The remarketing agent will attempt, on a reasonable efforts basis, to remarket the tendered reset rate notes at a price equal to 100% of the aggregate principal balance so tendered. We cannot assure you that the remarketing agent will be able to remarket the entire principal balance of the reset rate notes tendered in a remarketing. The obligations of the remarketing agent will be subject to conditions and termination events customary in transactions of this type, including conditions that all of the reset rate notes subject to remarketing in fact were not called, none of the notes have been downgraded or put under review by the rating agencies, no events of default with respect to the notes have occurred, and no material adverse change in the trust’s financial condition has occurred between the remarketing terms determination date and the reset date. If the call option is not timely exercised and the remarketing agent is unable to remarket some or all of the tendered reset rate notes and, in their sole discretion, elects not to purchase those reset rate notes, then the remarketing agent will declare a failed remarketing, all holders will retain their notes, the related reset period will be fixed at three months, and the related interest rate will be set at the related failed remarketing rate.
No noteholder or beneficial owner of any reset rate note will have any rights or claims against the remarketing agent as a result of the remarketing agent’s not purchasing that reset rate note. The remarketing agent will have the option, but not the obligation, to purchase any reset rate notes tendered that they are not able to remarket.
The remarketing agent, in its individual or any other capacity, may buy, sell, hold and deal in the reset rate notes. The remarketing agent may exercise any vote or join in any action which any beneficial owner of the reset rate notes may be entitled to exercise or take with like effect as if it did not act in any capacity under the remarketing agency agreement. The remarketing agent, in its individual capacity, either as principal or agent, may also engage in or have an interest in any financial or other transaction with the trust, the depositor, the servicer or the administrator as freely as if it did not act in any capacity under the remarketing agency agreement.
The remarketing agent will be entitled to receive a fee from amounts on deposit in the remarketing fee account in connection with their services rendered for each reset date. The remarketing agent also will be entitled to reimbursement from the trust, on a subordinated basis, or from the administrator, if there are insufficient Available Funds on the related distribution date, for certain expenses associated with each remarketing. The fees associated with each successful remarketing and certain out-of-pocket expenses with respect to each reset date will be payable generally from amounts on deposit from time to time in the remarketing fee account. On each distribution date that is one year or less prior to a reset date, Available Funds will be deposited into the remarketing fee account, prior to the payment of interest on any class of notes, in an amount up to the Quarterly Funding Amount. If the amount on deposit in the remarketing fee account, after the payment of any remarketing fees therefrom, exceeds the Reset Period Target Amount, the excess will be withdrawn on the distribution date immediately following the related reset date, deposited into the collection account and included in Available Funds for that distribution date. In addition, all investments on deposit in the remarketing fee account will be withdrawn on the next distribution date, deposited into the collection account and included in Available Funds for that distribution date. Also, if on any distribution date a Class A Note Interest Shortfall would exist, or if on the maturity date for any class of class A notes, Available Funds would not be sufficient to reduce the principal balance of that class to zero, the amount of the Class A Note Interest Shortfall or principal deficiency, as applicable, to the extent sums are on deposit in the remarketing fee account, may be withdrawn from that account and used for payment of interest or principal on the class A notes.
The remarketing fee account is held by the indenture trustee for the benefit of the remarketing agent and the class A noteholders. As of the July 2024 distribution date, there was $812,966.90 on deposit in the remarketing fee account. In connection with a successful remarketing of the class A-6B and/or class A-6C notes on the October 25, 2024 reset date, the remarketing agent will be paid a remarketing fee by the trust in an amount not to exceed $812,966.90.
Distributions
Deposits into the Collection Account. On or before the business day before each distribution date, the servicer and the administrator will provide the indenture trustee with certain information as to the preceding collection period, including the amount of Available Funds received from the trust student loans and the aggregate purchase amount of the trust student loans to be purchased from the trust by the sellers, the depositor or the servicer.
Except as provided in the next paragraph, the servicer will deposit all payments on the trust student loans and all proceeds of the trust student loans collected by it during each collection period into the collection account within two business days of receipt. Except as provided in the next paragraph, the eligible lender trustee will deposit all interest subsidy payments and all special allowance payments on the student loans received by it for each collection period into the collection account within two business days of receipt.
However, for so long as no administrator default has occurred and is continuing, the servicer and the eligible lender trustee will remit the amounts referred to above that would otherwise be deposited into the collection account to the administrator within two business days of receipt, and the administrator will remit those amounts to the collection account on or before the business day preceding each monthly servicing payment date, together with interest calculated from the first day of the month following receipt by the administrator to but excluding the day on which the administrator remits such amounts to the collection account at a rate no less than the federal funds rate for each day during that period less 0.20%. See “Servicing and Administration—Payments on Trust Student Loans” in this free-writing prospectus.
Distributions from the Collection Account. On each monthly servicing payment date that is not a distribution date, the administrator will instruct the indenture trustee to pay to the servicer the primary servicing fee due for the period from and including the preceding monthly servicing payment date from amounts on deposit in the collection account.
On or before each distribution date, the administrator will instruct the indenture trustee to make the following deposits and distributions in the amounts and in the order of priority shown below, except as otherwise provided under “Description of the Notes—The Notes—The Class A Notes—Distributions of Principal” and “—The Notes—The Class B Notes—Subordination of the Class B Notes” herein, to the extent of Available Funds for that distribution date and amounts transferred from the reserve account with respect to that distribution date:
(a) to the servicer, the primary servicing fee due on that distribution date;
(b) to the administrator, the administration fee due on that distribution date and all prior unpaid administration fees;
(c) to the remarketing fee account, any Quarterly Funding Amount for that distribution date;
(d) pro rata, based on the aggregate principal balance of the notes (or, with respect to any class of reset rate notes then in foreign exchange mode, its U.S. Dollar Notional Principal Balance) and the amount of any swap termination payment and trust swap payment due and payable by the trust to the swap counterparty under this clause (d):
(1) to the class A noteholders (other than the reset rate noteholders if a swap agreement with respect to interest payments to be made to the related reset rate noteholders is then in effect), the Class A Noteholders’ Interest Distribution Amount, pro rata, based on the amounts payable as Class A Noteholders’ Interest Distribution Amount;
(2) if one or more swap agreements are then in effect for any class or classes of reset rate notes with respect to interest payments to be made to those noteholders, to each applicable Swap Counterparty or Swap Counterparties, the amount of interest at the related floating rate due to each applicable Swap Counterparty under the related swap agreement; and
(3) if any swap agreement with respect to a class of reset rate notes has been terminated, to the related Swap Counterparty, the amount of any swap termination payments due to such Swap Counterparty due to a swap termination event resulting from a payment default by the trust or the insolvency of the trust; provided, that if any amounts allocable to the class A notes are not needed to pay the Class A Noteholders’ Interest Distribution Amount as of such distribution date, such amounts will be applied to pay the portion, if any, of any swap termination payment referred to in this clause (d) remaining unpaid;
(e) to the class B noteholders, the Class B Noteholders’ Interest Distribution Amount;
(f) any remaining Class A Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount, pro rata, to the class A-6A, class A-6B and class A-6C noteholders, until the principal balance of each such class notes is paid in full; provided, however, that:
(A) if the class A-6B and/or class A-6C notes are then denominated in U.S. Dollars and are then structured not to receive a payment of principal until the end of the related reset period, principal payments will be allocated to the related accumulation account until amounts on deposit therein are sufficient to reduce the principal balance of that class to zero,
(B) if the class A-6B and/or class A-6C notes are then denominated in a currency other than U.S. Dollars, principal payments either will be made to the related currency Swap Counterparty or counterparties or will be allocated to the related accumulation account (if such class is then structured not to receive a payment of principal until the end of the related reset period) until the U.S. Dollar equivalent of the principal balance of that class of reset rate notes has been distributed to the related currency Swap Counterparty or counterparties or allocated to the related accumulation account, and
(C) for purposes of this clause (f), the outstanding principal balance of the class A-6B and/or class A-6C notes or their U.S. Dollar equivalents, as applicable, will be deemed to have been reduced by any amounts (less any investment earnings) on deposit in any related accumulation account;
(g) to any supplemental interest account, the Supplemental Interest Account Deposit Amount, if any, for that distribution date;
(h) to any investment reserve account, the amount, if any, required to fund that account to the applicable Investment Reserve Account Required Amount;
(i) on each distribution date on and after the Stepdown Date, and provided that no Trigger Event is in effect on such distribution date, to the class B noteholders until paid in full, the Class B Noteholders’ Principal Distribution Amount;
(j) to the reserve account, the amount, if any, necessary to reinstate the balance of the reserve account to the Specified Reserve Account Balance;
(k) to any investment premium purchase account, the Investment Premium Purchase Account Deposit Amount, if any, together with any carryover shortfalls not deposited on previous distribution dates;
(l) to the servicer, the aggregate unpaid amount of the carryover servicing fee, if any;
(m) if applicable, to any Swap Counterparty or Swap Counterparties, pro rata, the amount of any swap termination payments due to the Swap Counterparty or Swap Counterparties, as the case may be, not payable in clause (d)(3) above;
(n) if applicable, to the remarketing agent, any remarketing fees due and owing by the trust to the extent not paid from amounts on deposit in the remarketing fee account;
(o) if applicable, sequentially, first to the remarketing agent for certain expenses incurred in connection with the remarketing of a class of reset rate notes on that distribution date, and second to the administrator for advances made on behalf of the trust for the payment of remarketing expenses on that or prior distribution dates; and
(p) sequentially, in this order, to (1) any potential future cap counterparty under a potential future interest rate cap agreement, the amount of any payment under such potential future interest rate cap agreement (including, without limitation, any upfront fees, termination payments or any other amounts due to such potential future cap counterparty), as applicable, and (2) the excess distribution certificateholder, any remaining amounts after application of the preceding clauses.
Amounts that would be paid to each Swap Counterparty pursuant to clauses (d), (f) or (m) above with respect to a class of reset rate notes may be paid by the trust to the related Swap Counterparty on or prior to the applicable distribution date.
In the event that a swap termination payment is owed by the trust to any Swap Counterparty and a replacement swap agreement is procured by the trust under which the replacement Swap Counterparty makes a payment to the trust, the trust will pay that amount directly to the original Swap Counterparty to the extent that a payment is owed by the trust to that counterparty. If after making that payment, the original Swap Counterparty is still owed a payment, then the remaining amount will be paid as set forth in clause (m) above.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the trust student loans are not sold on the trust auction date, on each subsequent distribution date on which the Pool Balance is equal to 10% or less of the Initial Pool Balance, the administrator will direct the indenture trustee to distribute as accelerated payments of principal on the notes all amounts that otherwise would be paid to the excess distribution certificateholder.