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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

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FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☑	Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 or

☐	Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from                     to                       

Commission File Number of issuing entity: 333-190926-11

Central Index Key of issuing entity: 0001633023

NAVIENT STUDENT LOAN TRUST 2015-1

(Exact name of issuing entity as specified in its charter)

Commission File Number of depositor: 333-190926

Central Index Key of depositor: 0000949114

NAVIENT FUNDING, LLC

(Exact name of depositor as specified in its charter)

Central Index Key of sponsor: 0001601725

NAVIENT SOLUTIONS, LLC

(Exact name of sponsor as specified in its charter)

c/o Wells Fargo Delaware Trust Company, N.A.

919 North Market Street, Suite 1600

Wilmington, Delaware 19801

(Address of principal executive offices of issuing entity)

(703) 984-6890

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes ☐No ☑

Indicate by check mark if registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.  Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulations S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes ☐ No ☑

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

Not applicable.

 

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PART I

The following Items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10–K:

Item 1.

Business

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

Item 2.

Properties

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

Not Applicable.

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not Applicable.

The following information is substitute information provided in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 1112(b) of Regulation AB. Significant Obligor Financial Information

No single obligor represents more than 10% of the pool assets held by the Issuing Entity.

Items 1114(b)(2) of Regulation AB. Credit Enhancement and Other Support, Except for Certain Derivatives

No entity or group of affiliated entities provides external credit enhancement or other support with respect to payments on the notes issued by the Issuing Entity.

Items 1115(b) of Regulation AB. Credit Derivatives Instruments

No entity or group of affiliated entities provides derivative instruments with respect to payments on the notes issued by the Issuing Entity.

Item 1117 of Regulation AB. Legal Proceedings

Other than as stated in the following paragraphs, no legal proceedings are pending against the Issuing Entity, Navient Solutions, LLC (formerly, Navient Solutions, Inc.), as the Sponsor, the Servicer and the Administrator, Navient Funding, LLC, as the Depositor (the “Depositor”) and registrant under Registration Statement Number 333-190926 (the “Registrant”) or to the Registrant’s knowledge, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as the Indenture Trustee, that are or would be material to the holders of the notes issued by the Issuing Entity, nor does the Registrant know of any such proceeding contemplated by any governmental authorities.

 

The following four paragraphs are disclosure received from Navient Solutions, LLC (formerly, Navient Solutions, Inc.), the servicer for this transaction.

 

On January 18, 2017, the CFPB and Attorneys General for the State of Illinois and the State of Washington (collectively the “Attorneys General”) initiated civil actions naming Navient Corporation and several of its subsidiaries as defendants alleging violations of Federal and State consumer protection statutes, including the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and various state consumer protection laws. These civil actions are related to the aforementioned CIDs and the NORA letter that were previously issued by the CFPB and the Attorneys General. In addition to these matters, a number of lawsuits have been filed by nongovernmental parties or may be filed by additional governmental or nongovernmental parties, including other state attorneys general or private litigants, seeking damages or other remedies related to similar issues raised by the CFPB and the Attorneys General.  One such lawsuit was filed on October 5, 2017 by the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, naming Navient Corporation and Navient Solutions, LLC as defendants alleging claims and seeking legal and equitable relief that are substantially similar to claims made and relief by the CFPB and other Attorneys General.  The Company filed its Motion to Dismiss on March 20, 2017 with respect to the Attorneys General actions and on March 24, 2017 with respect to the CFPB action.  In April 2017, the CFPB filed their response to our Motion to Dismiss and in May 2017, we filed our response.  A hearing on our Motion to Dismiss was held on June 27, 2017 and the Court denied our motion on August 4, 2017.  On May 24, 2017, the WA AG filed their response to our Motion to Dismiss and on July 5, 2017, we filed our response.  The Motion to Dismiss was denied on July 10, 2017, after a hearing.  On May 24, 2017, the IL AG filed their response to our Motion to Dismiss and on June 30, 2017, we filed our response. A hearing on our Motion to Dismiss was held on July 18, 2017 and as of March 29, 2018, the Court has not ruled on the motion.   In relation to the Pennsylvania Attorney General lawsuit, the Company filed its Motion to Dismiss on December 22, 2017.  The motion has not been heard by the court.  As the Company has previously stated, we believe the suits improperly seek to impose penalties on Navient based on new servicing standards applied retroactively and applied only against one servicer and that the allegations are false. We intend to vigorously defend against the allegations included in these lawsuits and any subsequent lawsuits that may be filed by governmental or nongovernmental parties, including other state attorneys general or private litigants, seeking similar damages and remedies. At this point in time, the Company is unable to anticipate the timing of a resolution or the ultimate impact that these legal proceedings may have on the Company’s consolidated financial position, liquidity, results of operation or cash flows. As a result, it is not possible at this time to estimate a range of potential exposure, if any, for amounts that may be payable in connection with these matters and reserves have not been established. It is possible that an adverse ruling or rulings may have a material adverse impact on the Company.

 

During the first quarter of 2016, Navient Corporation, certain Navient officers and directors, and the underwriters of certain Navient securities offerings were sued in three putative securities class action lawsuits filed on behalf of certain investors in Navient stock or Navient unsecured debt. These three cases, which were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, were consolidated by the District Court, with Lord Abbett Funds appointed as Lead Plaintiff. The caption of the consolidated case is Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund, Inc., et al. v. Navient Corporation, et al. The plaintiffs filed their amended and consolidated complaint in September 2016. The Court ruled on our Motion to Dismiss on September 6, 2017 and dismissed the complaint in its entirety without prejudice. The plaintiffs filed a further amended and restated complaint on November 17, 2017.  The Navient defendants intend to vigorously defend against the allegations.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2017, Navient Corporation and certain Navient officers were named in two putative class action lawsuits filed on behalf of certain investors in Navient stock entitled Pope v. Navient Corporation, et al and Gross v. Navient Corporation, et al.  These cases have been consolidated.  The Navient defendants intend to vigorously defend against these allegations.

 

At this stage in the proceedings, we are unable to anticipate the timing of resolution or the ultimate impact, if any, that the legal proceedings may have on the consolidated financial position, liquidity, results of operations or cash-flows of Navient and its affiliates. As a result, it is not possible at this time to estimate a range of potential exposure, if any, for amounts that may be payable in connection with these matters and reserves have not been established. It is possible that an adverse ruling or rulings may have a material adverse impact on the Company.

The following paragraph is disclosure received from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. concerning their role as trustee of certain residential mortgage backed securities trusts.

 

On June 18, 2014, a group of institutional investors filed a civil complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., (“Wells Fargo Bank”) in its capacity as trustee under 276 residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”) trusts, which was later amended on July 18, 2014, to increase the number of trusts to 284 RMBS trusts. On November 24, 2014, the plaintiffs filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the state court action without prejudice. That same day, a group of institutional investors filed a putative class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) against Wells Fargo Bank, alleging claims against the bank in its capacity as trustee for 274 RMBS trusts (the “Federal Court Complaint”). In December 2014, the plaintiffs’ motion to voluntarily dismiss their original state court action was granted. As with the prior state court action, the Federal Court Complaint is one of six similar complaints filed contemporaneously against RMBS trustees (Deutsche Bank, Citibank, HSBC, Bank of New York Mellon and US Bank) by a group of institutional investor plaintiffs. The Federal Court Complaint against Wells Fargo Bank alleges that the trustee caused losses to investors and asserts causes of action based upon, among other things, the trustee's alleged failure to: (i) notify and enforce repurchase obligations of mortgage loan sellers for purported breaches of representations and warranties, (ii) notify investors of alleged events of default, and (iii) abide by appropriate standards of care following alleged events of default. Relief sought includes money damages in an unspecified amount, reimbursement of expenses, and equitable relief. Other cases alleging similar causes of action have been filed against Wells Fargo Bank and other trustees in the District Court by RMBS investors in these and other transactions, and these cases against Wells Fargo Bank are proceeding before the same District Court judge. A similar complaint was also filed May 27, 2016 in New York state court by a different plaintiff investor. On January 19, 2016, an order was entered in connection with the Federal Court Complaint in which the District Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over 261 trusts at issue in the Federal Court Complaint; the District Court also allowed plaintiffs to file amended complaints as to the remaining, non-dismissed trusts, if they so chose, and three amended complaints have been filed. On December 17, 2016, the investor plaintiffs in the 261 trusts dismissed from the Federal Court Complaint filed a new complaint in New York state court (the “State Court Complaint”). In September 2017, Royal Park Investments SA/NV (“Royal Park”), one of the plaintiffs in the District Court cases against Wells Fargo Bank, filed a putative class action complaint relating to two trusts seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and money damages based on Wells Fargo Bank’s indemnification from trust funds for legal fees and expenses Wells Fargo Bank incurs or has incurred in defending the District Court case filed by Royal Park. With respect to the foregoing litigations, Wells Fargo Bank believes plaintiffs' claims are without merit and intends to contest the claims vigorously, but there can be no assurances as to the outcome of the litigations or the possible impact of the litigations on Wells Fargo Bank or the RMBS trusts.

 

PART II

The following Items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10–K:

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Item 6.

Selected Financial Data

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

Item 9B.

Other Information

Nothing to report.

 

PART III

The following Items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

Item 13.

Certain Relationships, Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Item 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The following information is substitute information provided in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 1119 of Regulation AB. Affiliations and Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

Pursuant to the Instruction to Item 1119 of Regulation AB, information required by Item 1119 has been omitted from this Report because substantially the same information related to affiliates of the Issuing Entity and certain relationships and related transactions is provided in the section titled “The Sponsor, Servicer and Administrator” of the base prospectus, previously filed with the SEC on February 20, 2015 pursuant to Securities Act Rule 424, file number 333-190926.

Item 1122 of Regulation AB. Compliance with Applicable Servicing Criteria

Navient Solutions, LLC, as the Servicer, Navient Solutions, LLC, as the Administrator and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as the Indenture Trustee (collectively, the “Servicing Parties”) have each been identified by the Depositor as parties participating in the servicing function with respect to the asset pool held by the Issuing Entity. Each of the Servicing Parties has completed a report on assessment of compliance with the servicing criteria applicable to it (each a “Servicing Report”), which Servicing Reports are attached as exhibits to this Form 10-K. Each of the Servicing Parties have provided an attestation report (each an “Attestation Report”) by one or more public accounting firms, which reports are also attached as exhibits to this Report. None of the Servicing Reports or Attestation Reports has identified any material instance of noncompliance with the servicing criteria as applicable to the respective Servicing Party. There have been no material instances of noncompliance with the servicing criteria for the period of this Report.

Item 1123 of Regulation AB. Servicer Compliance Statement

A Servicer Compliance Statement for each of Navient Solutions, LLC, as Servicer, and Navient Solutions, LLC, as Administrator, is included as an exhibit to this Report.

 

PART IV

Item 15.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

(a)

List of Documents Filed as Part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K

(1)

Not applicable.

(2)

Not applicable.

(3)

See Item 15 (b) below.

(b)

Exhibits Required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K

(c)

Not Applicable.

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed, on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION TO BE FURNISHED WITH REPORTS FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE ACT BY REGISTRANTS WHICH HAVE NOT REGISTERED SECURITIES PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE ACT.

No annual report, proxy statement, form of proxy or other proxy soliciting material has been sent to holders of the notes issued by the Issuing Entity during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Registrant does not intend to furnish such materials subsequent to the filing of the report.

 

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

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