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Companion Policy 51-102CP Continuous Disclosure Obligations
Part 6 AIF
Section 6.2

AIF Disclosure of Asset-backed Securities

(1) Factors to consider – Issuers that have distributed asset-backed securities under a prospectus are required to provide disclosure in their AIF under section 5.3 of Form 51-102F2. Issuers of asset-backed securities must determine which other prescribed disclosure is applicable and ought to be included in the AIF. Disclosure for a special purpose issuer of asset-backed securities will generally explain

  • the nature, performance and servicing of the underlying pool of financial assets;
  • the structure of the securities and dedicated cash flows; and
  • any third party or internal support arrangements established to protect holders of the asset-backed securities from losses associated with non-performance of the financial assets or disruptions in payment.

The nature and extent of required disclosure may vary depending on the type and attributes of the underlying pool and the contractual arrangements through which holders of the asset-backed securities take their interest in such assets.

An issuer of asset-backed securities should consider the following factors when preparing its AIF:

1.The extent of disclosure respecting an issuer will depend on the extent of the issuer’s on-going involvement in the conversion of the assets comprising the pool to cash and the distribution of cash to securityholders; this involvement may, in turn, vary dramatically depending on the type, quality and attributes of the assets comprising the pool and on the overall structure of the transaction.

2. Disclosure about the business and affairs of the issuer should relate to the financial assets underlying the asset-backed securities.

3. Disclosure about the originator or the seller of the underlying financial assets will often be relevant to investors in the asset-backed securities particularly where the originator or seller has an on-going involvement with the financial assets comprising the pool. For example, if asset-backed securities are serviced with the cash flows from a revolving pool of receivables, an evaluation of the nature and reliability of the future origination or the future sales of underlying assets by the seller to or through the issuer may be a critical aspect of an investor’s investment decision.

To address this, the focus of disclosure respecting an originator or seller of the underlying financial assets should deal with whether there are current circumstances that indicate that the originator or seller will not generate adequate assets in the future to avoid an early liquidation of the pool and, correspondingly, an early payment of the asset-backed securities. Summary historical financial information respecting the originator or seller will ordinarily be adequate to satisfy the disclosure requirement applicable to the originator or seller in circumstances where the originator or seller has an ongoing relationship with the assets comprising the pool.

Financial information respecting the pool of assets to be described and analyzed in the AIF will consist of information commonly set out in servicing reports prepared to describe the performance of the pool and the specific allocations of profit, loss and cash flows applicable to outstanding asset-backed securities made during the relevant period.

(2) Underlying pool of assets – Paragraph 5.3(2)(a) of Form 51-102F2 requires issuers of asset-backed securities that were distributed by way of prospectus to include financial disclosure relating to the composition of the underlying pool of financial assets, the cash flows from which service the asset-backed securities. Disclosure respecting the composition of the pool will vary depending upon the nature and number of the underlying financial assets. For example, in a geographically dispersed pool of financial assets, it may be appropriate to provide a summary disclosure based on the location of obligors. In the context of a revolving pool, it may be appropriate to provide details relating to aggregate outstanding balances during a year to illustrate historical fluctuations in asset origination due, for example, to seasonality. In pools of consumer debt obligations, it may be appropriate to provide a breakdown within ranges of amounts owing by obligors in order to illustrate limits on available credit extended.