Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns Final Ratings to Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2012-4 Certificates

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns final ratings to six classes of mortgage pass-through certificates from Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2012-4, a jumbo prime RMBS transaction. Concurrently we have withdrawn our preliminary ratings on the certificates, which were assigned on September 10, 2012.

The mortgage pool backing SEMT 2012-4 is comprised of all first-lien mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of $313,222,403 as of the cut-off date. All of the loans in the pool are fixed rate (predominantly 30-year) mortgage loans for which income and assets were fully documented. The collateral pool consists of high quality mortgage loans. Most notably, the 66.4% first-lien loan-to-value (LTV), and the 67.6% combined first and junior lien LTV (CLTV), provide a substantial margin of safety against potential home price decline.

KBRA’s analysis of the transaction included a loan-level analysis of the mortgage pools using our Residential Mortgage Default and Loss Model, together with a review of the transaction parties, results of loan file reviews performed by independent third party firms and review of the legal structure and key documentation. This analysis is further described in our U.S. RMBS Rating Methodology.

For complete details on the analysis, please see our Pre-Sale Report, Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2012-4 which was published on September 10, 2012 at www.krollbondratings.com.

Final Ratings Assigned: SEMT 2012-4
Class	Rating	Expected Initial Class Principal
A-1	AAA(sf)	$100,000,000
A-2	AAA(sf)	$100,000,000
A-3	AAA(sf)	$90,357,000
A-IO	AAA(sf)	$290,357,000*
A-IO2	AAA (sf)	$100,000,000*
A-IO3	AAA (sf)	$90,357,000*
* Notional Balance

Related publications:

U.S. RMBS Rating Methodology, published January 9, 2012
Residential Mortgage Default and Loss Model, published January 9, 2012

About Kroll Bond Rating Agency

KBRA was established in 2010 by Jules Kroll to restore trust in credit ratings by creating new standards for assessing risk and by offering accurate, clear and transparent ratings. KBRA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a Credit Rating Provider (CRP).