DBRS Confirms Rating on the Class A Notes issued by BCC SME Finance 1 S.r.l. and Removes UR-Negative

DBRS Ratings Limited (“DBRS”) has today confirmed the A (high) (sf) rating on the EUR 1,362,582,027 Class A Notes issued by BCC SME Finance 1 S.r.l. (“the Issuer”) and has removed them from Under Review with Negative Implications.

The transaction is a multi-originator cash flow securitisation collateralised by a portfolio of bank loans to Italian Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (“SMEs”), which were originated by 27 Italian cooperative banks and 1 corporate bank. Please refer to http://www.dbrs.com/issuer/18655 for additional information.
The rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal payable on or before the Final Maturity Date in May 2060.

The principal methodology is the Master European Granular Corporate Securitisations (SME CLOs), which can be found on our website under Methodologies.

Each of the Originators services its own portfolio. Cassa Centrale – Credito Cooperativo Nord Est S.p.A. acts as Back-up Servicer with respect to all portfolios and as Operating Bank as well. Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch acts as the Agent Bank, the Cash Manager, the English Transaction Bank, and the Principal Paying Agent. Deutsche Bank S.p.A. acts as Transaction Bank, Italian Paying Agent and Computation Agent. J.P. Morgan Securities PLC acts as the Swap Counterparty, while J.P. Morgan Chase Bank NA acts as the Swap Guarantor. In addition, FIS Full Integrated Solutions S.p.A. acts as Corporate Services Provider and as Back-up Servicer Facilitator. Finally, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited acts as the Representative of the Noteholders.

The rating actions reflect the 6 March 2013 downgrade of the Republic of Italy’s long-term and local currency debt to A (low) from ‘A’, with both ratings remaining on Negative Trend, including the incorporation of a sovereign related stress component in the rating analysis, related to the A (low) rating on trend Negative, to address the impact of macroeconomic variables on collateral performance.

For a more detailed discussion of sovereign risk impact on Structured Finance ratings, please refer to DBRS commentary “The Effect of Sovereign Risk on Securitisations in the Euro Area”, located at http://dbrs.com/research/239786.

The sources of information used for these ratings include the parties involved in the rating, including but not limited to the Originator, the Issuer and its agents.

Further information on DBRS’s analysis of this transaction is available in a rating report on http://www.dbrs.com, or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

For additional information on DBRS European SME CLO(s), please see European Disclosure Requirements, located at http://dbrs.com/research/235269.

Ratings assigned by DBRS Ratings Limited are subject to EU regulations only.

Initial Lead Analyst: Simon Ross
Initial Rating Date: 10 August 2012
Lead Surveillance Analyst: Alfonso Candelas
Most Recent Rating Update: 14 March 2013
Rating Committee Chair: Jerry van Koolbergen

Note:
All figures are in Euros unless otherwise noted.