Morningstar Credit Ratings Assigns Preliminary Ratings for Access Point Funding I 2015-A, LLC

NEW YORK, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC today assigned preliminary ratings to four classes of asset-backed securities (ABS) issued by Access Point Funding I 2015-A, LLC, the first ABS securitization brought to market by Access Point Financial, Inc. (APF). This is the first publicly rated securitization of loans financing furnishings, fixtures, and equipment (FFE) in the hospitality sector. APF is the sponsor, seller, and master servicer for this transaction. Trimont Real Estate Advisors, Inc. is the subservicer, and Guggenheim Securities LLC is the arranger and an initial purchaser. The preliminary ratings are based on information known to Morningstar as of June 2, 2015.

The Asset-Backed Notes, Series 2015-A, are backed by a static pool of loans originated by APF to franchisees of major hotel brands and owners of independent boutique hotels for renovations and repositioning. The fixed-rate loans benefit from full recourse to each owner of more than a 10 percent share of the property, and a majority of the loans are secured by a lien on FFE. The loans feature an interest-only period of six to 24 months, followed by a seven- to eight-year amortization period. Historically, these loan features encouraged significant prepayments, thereby lowering the weighted average loan life to well below the expected life of the FFE. 

For complete details about the preliminary ratings of this transaction, Morningstar's Presale Analysis Package, including the Presale Report and the Representations, Warranties, and Enforcement Mechanisms, is available under the ABS tab in the Ratings Reports section at https://ratingagency.morningstar.com. Morningstar could receive subsequent information that may result in final ratings that differ from the preliminary ratings.

About Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC and Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) that specializes in structured credit research and ratings and offers a wide array of services including new-issue ratings and analysis, operational risk assessments, surveillance services, data, and technology solutions.

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Morningstar, Inc. offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 15 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had more than $179 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2015. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Morningstar, Inc. is not an NRSRO, and its credit ratings on corporate issuers are not NRSRO credit ratings.

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