KBRA Upgrades and Affirms Ratings from First Help Financial Securitization Trusts

KBRA upgrades its ratings on 11 classes of notes and affirms its ratings on five classes of notes issued from five FHF Trust transactions. KBRA’s analysis indicated that existing credit enhancement for the notes is sufficient to support the revised and affirmed ratings. All the securities with upgraded ratings experienced increased credit enhancement. The data used for this review is as of the March 2025 distribution date (February 2025 collection period). To date, the securities have received timely interest payments.

In performing its rating review, KBRA utilized its Auto Loan ABS Global Rating Methodology, as well as its Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology and ESG Global Rating Methodology. In determining these rating actions, KBRA reviewed the collateral performance to date and projected the remaining loss for the transactions based on current assumptions. The rating actions, along with related deal and tranche performance information, are available in spreadsheet form in the accompanying FHF Trust Comprehensive Surveillance Dashboard. FHF Trust 2024-3 and FHF Trust 2025-1 closed on October 24, 2024 and March 14, 2025 respectively, and were not included in this review.

Headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, First Help Financial (“FHF” or the “Company”) is a subprime auto finance company that was founded in 2006 and currently offers loans in 29 states. FHF is an indirect auto lender and purchases receivables from franchise and independent dealers. The Company is privately held with the Treacy family as the majority owner and two members of the management team as minority owners. Based on financials provided by the Company, FHF is profitable and has increased revenue year over year since 2016. The Company reported pre-tax net income of $67.9 million in FY 2024. As of December 31, 2024, FHF had total assets of $1.1 billion and equity of $96.1 million. The Company has demonstrated the ability to secure liquidity from a variety of banks and capital market sources at staggered maturity dates. As of January 31, 2025, the Company had drawn $120.16 million of its $630 million in funding commitments from four warehouse lines. Additionally, the Company has sold over $320.16 million of whole loans to community banks.

In 2024, 96% of originations were sourced through franchise dealers and the remaining 4% sources through independent dealers. The Company’s target consumer base is typically unable to obtain financing from traditional lending sources such as credit unions, banks, and captive auto finance companies. FHF’s obligors may have limited or no credit history and may be immigrants with an unverified immigration status.

The related transactions are listed further below with links to the appropriate page on kbra.com which show the applicable resulting ratings.

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For additional information regarding a specific transaction, see the list below to access ratings, reports, and disclosures:

Methodologies