DBRS Morningstar Confirms Ratings on Prime Structured Mortgage (PriSM) Trust, Series 2020-1

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed its ratings on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1 issued by Prime Structured Mortgage (PriSM) Trust as part of DBRS Morningstar’s continued effort to provide market participants with updates on an annual basis:

-- AAA (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class A (the Class A Certificates)
-- AAA (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class VFC (the Class VFC Certificates)
-- AAA (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class IO (the Class IO Certificates)
-- AA (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class B (the Class B Certificates)
-- AA (low) (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class C (the Class C Certificates)
-- A (high) (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class D (the Class D Certificates)
-- BBB (high) (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class E (the Class E Certificates)
-- BB (low) (sf) on the Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class F (the Class F Certificates; together with the Class A Certificates, the Class VFC Certificates, the Class IO Certificates, the Class B Certificates, the Class C Certificates, the Class D Certificates, and the Class E Certificates, the Rated Certificates)

The ratings on the Class A Certificates, the Class VFC Certificates (together with the Class A Certificates, the Senior Principal Certificates), the Class B Certificates, the Class C Certificates, the Class D Certificates, the Class E Certificates, and the Class F Certificates represent the timely payment of interest to the holders thereof and the ultimate payment of principal by the Rated Final Distribution Date under the respective rating stress. The rating on the Class IO Certificates is an opinion that addresses the likelihood of the Notional Amount of the Class IO Certificates’ applicable reference certificates (i.e., the Senior Principal Certificates) being adversely affected by credit losses.

The Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class G (the Class G Certificates) and Mortgage-Backed Certificates, Series 2020-1, Class R (collectively with the Class G Certificates and the Rated Certificates, the Certificates) are not rated by DBRS Morningstar.

The rating confirmations are based on the following factors:

(1) The collateral comprises a pool of first-lien fixed-rate, B-20 compliant uninsured Canadian residential mortgages with a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% at origination. The total outstanding note balance was $482.7 million and the Senior Principal Accumulation Account had a balance of $60.9 million, as of March 2022.

(2) Credit enhancement provided by subordination has built up since issuance, providing protection to the Certificates.

(3) Credit performance since inception has been stable with no reported losses. The transaction benefits from strong asset quality consisting of prime conventional mortgages with high credit scores and low LTV ratios. Losses are allocated to the lowest-ranking Principal Certificates outstanding.

(4) TD Securities Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank (rated AA (high) with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar), is the Seller and Master Servicer and provides representations and warranties and is ultimately responsible for all the servicing obligations of the mortgages. Both First National Financial LP (rated BBB with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar) and CMLS Financial Ltd., acting as Sub-Servicers, have extensive servicing experience in the Canadian residential mortgage market.

The ratings on the Class C Certificates, the Class D Certificates, the Class E Certificates, and the Class F Certificates materially deviate from higher ratings implied by the quantitative results. DBRS Morningstar considers a material deviation to be a rating differential of three or more notches between the assigned rating and the rating implied by the quantitative results that is a substantial component of a rating methodology. The deviations are warranted as DBRS Morningstar recognizes the structural subordination of the Class C Certificates to the Class B Certificates, the Class D Certificates to the Class C Certificates, the Class E Certificates to the Class D Certificates, and the Class F Certificates to the Class E Certificates.

DBRS Morningstar monitors the performance of the transaction to identify any deviation from DBRS Morningstar’s expectations at issuance and to ensure the ratings remain appropriate. The review is predicated upon the timely receipt of performance information from the related providers. The performance and characteristics of the pool and the Certificates are available and updated each month in the Monthly Canadian ABS Report.

There were no environmental, social, or governance factors or consideration with a significant or relevant impact on the credit rating.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Master Canadian Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (June 7, 2021), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

The DBRS Morningstar Sovereign group releases baseline macroeconomic scenarios for rated sovereigns. DBRS Morningstar analysis considered impacts consistent with the baseline scenarios as set forth in the following report: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/384482.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link under Related Documents or by contacting us at [email protected].

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding the sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

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