The Indenture Trustee
U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”), a national banking association, will act as indenture trustee, registrar and paying agent. U.S. Bancorp, with total assets exceeding $554 billion as of December 31, 2020, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, U.S. Bancorp served approximately 18 million customers and operated over 2,400 branch offices in 26 states. A network of specialized U.S. Bancorp offices across the nation provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses, and institutions.
U.S. Bank has one of the largest corporate trust businesses in the country with office locations in 48 domestic and 2 international cities. The Indenture will be administered from U.S. Bank’s corporate trust office located at 190 South LaSalle Street, 7th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603.
U.S. Bank has provided corporate trust services since 1924. As of December 31, 2020, U.S. Bank was acting as trustee with respect to over 107,000 issuances of securities with an aggregate outstanding principal balance of over $4.7 trillion. This portfolio includes corporate and municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations.
The indenture trustee will make each monthly statement available to the noteholders via the indenture trustee’s internet website at https://pivot.usbank.com. Noteholders with questions may direct them to the indenture trustee’s bondholder services group at (800) 934-6802.
As of December 31, 2020, U.S. Bank (and its affiliate U.S. Bank Trust National Association) was acting as indenture trustee, registrar and paying agent on 97 issuances of equipment finance-backed securities with an outstanding aggregate principal balance of approximately $16,882,800,000.
In the last several years, U.S. Bank and other large financial institutions have been sued in their capacity as trustee or successor trustee for certain residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”) trusts. The complaints, primarily filed by investors or investor groups against U.S. Bank and similar institutions, allege the trustees caused losses to investors as a result of alleged failures by the sponsors, mortgage loan sellers and servicers to comply with the governing agreements for these RMBS trusts. Plaintiffs generally assert causes of action based upon the trustees’ purported failures to enforce repurchase obligations of mortgage loan sellers for alleged breaches of representations and warranties, notify securityholders of purported events of default allegedly caused by breaches of servicing standards by mortgage loan servicers and abide by a heightened standard of care following alleged events of default.
U.S. Bank denies liability and believes that it has performed its obligations under the RMBS trusts in good faith, that its actions were not the cause of losses to investors, that it has meritorious defenses, and it has contested and intends to continue contesting the plaintiffs’ claims vigorously. However, U.S. Bank cannot assure you as to the outcome of any of the litigation, or the possible impact of these litigations on the trustee or the RMBS trusts.
On March 9, 2018, a law firm purporting to represent fifteen Delaware statutory trusts (the “DSTs”) that issued securities backed by student loans (the “Student Loans”) filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery against U.S. Bank in its capacities as indenture trustee and successor special servicer, and three other institutions in their respective transaction capacities, with respect to the DSTs and the Student Loans. This lawsuit is captioned The National Collegiate Student Loan Master Trust I, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al., C.A. No. 2018-0167-JRS (Del. Ch.) (the “NCMSLT Action”). The complaint, as amended on June 15, 2018, alleged that the DSTs have been harmed as a result of purported misconduct or omissions by the defendants concerning administration of the trusts and special servicing of the Student Loans. Since the filing of the NCMSLT Action, certain borrowers of the Student Loans have made assertions against U.S. Bank concerning special servicing, which appear to be based on certain allegations made on behalf of the DSTs in the NCMSLT Action.
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