S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have each assigned their preliminary ratings to 10 classes of securities, backed by a pool of prime Australian residential full-documentation mortgage loans originated by Columbus Capital Pty Limited.

This series of Triton Bond Trust 2021-1 Series 1 floating rate notes has the potential to raise almost $500 million for non-bank lender Columbus Capital. The five highest rated tranches account for A$480 million, and all of these were assigned preliminary ratings of AAA(sf), respectively.

Both ratings agencies, in their preliminary reports, explained that their ratings reflect the extra risk posed by COVID-19, although, as S&P noted: "the collateral pool at close for this transaction will not include any loans where the borrower has applied for a COVID-19 hardship payment arrangement."

According to a presale release from Fitch, interest-only loans accounted for 14.4 per cent, and investment loans of 42.7 per cent. A higher proportion of interest-only and investment loans in the pool is the main reason for the higher WAFF than in the previous transaction.

The preliminary ratings from both agencies also accounted for credit support in the form of mortgage insurance for 37 per cent of the loans in the portfolio, as well as subordination for all rated notes.

The previous comparable RMBS deal from Columbus Capital was the Triton Bond Trust 2020 Series 2. It was completed in June 2020, upsized from $500 million at launch to close at $600 million.