The Future of Career Education Consumer Loans: A Securitization Perspective

FREMONT, CA: Ascent, a leading provider of innovative financial products and student support services that help students access education and achieve long-term economic mobility, is pleased to announce the completion of its second public securitization and first securitization of career education consumer loans. Ascent's career loans help students attend skills training programs that offer a high return on investment in their education, such as coding, automotive, cybersecurity, and other trade skills. Morningstar DBRS assessed all three classes of fixed-rate notes that were issued: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Atlas SP served as the structuring agent, and Atlas SP and Cantor Fitzgerald served as bookrunners for the transaction. This follows the student success company's first public securitization of college debts, which raised $287 million.

With an estimated 57 percent of high school graduates never enrolling in college and 44 million students attending but not graduating, Ascent's career loans provide a much-needed alternative. They empower adult learners to attend high-return programs that promote economic growth. Because the programs are shorter, these students can complete them more quickly and pay less. To date, Ascent has delivered $450 million to over 42,000 skill training students, enabling them to boost their earnings and improve the FICO scores of 98 percent of its borrowers.

"At Ascent, we are passionate about developing innovative products that make entry into the workforce a reality for as many adult learners as possible," said Ken Ruggiero, co-founder and CEO of Ascent. "After our first successful public securitization, I'm proud to have completed our first-ever securitization of career education consumer loans which will help us continue to offer affordable financing to learners and enable growth with more training providers."

Ascent is dedicated to promoting long-term economic mobility for its students. The company is more than just a student lender; it is committed to assisting students in planning, paying for, and succeeding before, during, and after school. The objective is to increase borrowers' incomes by $10 billion over the next five years.