Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned preliminary ratings to three classes of loans issued by Castlelake Aircraft Structured Trust 2017-1. Proceeds from the sale of the loans will be used to purchase a fleet of 43 aircraft that are initially leased to 15 lessees located in 11 countries with an initial total value of approximately $940.7 million.

This transaction represents the fourth securitization for Castlelake, which was founded in 2005 with a focus on mid-life and end-of-life aviation assets. In total, the company has more than $10 billion in assets under management, of which more than $3 billion has been deployed within the aviation sector. As of March 31, 2017, Castlelake has a team of 33 individuals focused on aviation finance with an owned or managed fleet consisting of more than 400 aircraft.

The transaction benefits from sufficient credit enhancement and liquidity, as well as a dynamic structure that accelerates principal payments on the loans in the event of weak performance.

Class                           Rating                     Aggregate Loan Amount
Class A Loans              A (sf)                          $616,000,000
Class B Loans              BBB (sf)                     $90,000,000
Class C Loans              BB- (sf)                      $79,500,000