DBRS Assigns AAA Rating to RBC Covered Bonds, Series CB10

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today assigned a AAA rating to the Series CB10 covered bonds issued under the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Global Covered Bond Programme (the Programme). The Series CB10 (USD 1.75 billion) covered bonds have a coupon rate of 1.125% and a maturity date of July 22, 2016. As all covered bonds issued under the Programme (the Covered Bonds) rank pari passu with each other, DBRS has also confirmed the AAA ratings of all other outstanding series.

The ratings are based on several factors:

(1) The Covered Bonds are senior, unsecured, direct deposit obligations of RBC, which is rated AA and R-1 (high) by DBRS.

(2) In addition to a general recourse to RBC’s assets, the Covered Bonds are supported by a diversified collateral pool of first-lien, conventional residential mortgages with maximum loan-to-values (LTVs) of 80% in Canada (the Cover Pool). The Cover Pool experienced low credit losses historically and was approximately $18.9 billion as of June 28, 2013. The mortgages may have amortizing and non-amortizing, revolving loan parts secured by the same first lien. Only the amortizing loan parts are in the Cover Pool.

(3) The Covered Bonds benefit from several structural features, such as a reserve fund (when applicable) and rating thresholds for the swap counterparties, servicer and cash manager.

(4) Upon a default by RBC, the final maturity date on the Covered Bonds can be extended for 12 months, which increases the likelihood that the Covered Bonds can be fully repaid.

(5) There is a specific covered bond legislative framework in Canada. In addition, the contractual obligations of the transaction parties are supported by Canada’s well-developed commercial and bankruptcy laws, the satisfactory opinions provided by legal counsel to RBC and a generally creditor-friendly legal environment in Canada.

Despite the above strengths, the Covered Bonds could face the following challenges:

(1) A weakened housing market in Canada could result in higher defaults and lower recoveries than the assumptions used for credit protection assessment. This risk is significantly reduced by the home equity available in relation to the portfolio weighted-average LTV of 61.6% reported by RBC as of June 28, 2013.

(2) RBC may need to add mortgages to maintain the Cover Pool, incurring substitution and potential credit deterioration risk. These risks are mitigated by the ongoing monitoring of the Cover Pool to ensure the overcollateralization (OC) available is commensurate with the AAA rating of the Covered Bonds. Based on the latest review of the Cover Pool and the application of DBRS’s market value spread (see DBRS press release dated June 13, 2013), DBRS considers 6.4% OC, corresponding to an asset percentage of 94%, sufficient for a AAA rating. In comparison, at least 9.8% OC was available for the Covered Bonds, based on the asset percentage of 91.1% as of June 28, 2013.

(3) There is an inherent liquidity gap between the scheduled payments of the Covered Bonds and the repayment of the underlying mortgage loans over time. This risk is mitigated by the OC, the buildup of a reserve fund if RBC is not rated at least A (low) or R-1 (middle) and the 12-month maturity extension upon default by RBC.

The rating report for the Programme has been updated to reflect changes since the enactment of the legislation and the guide issued by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. DBRS notes that there is no cap on indemnity amounts payable to service providers in the payment waterfalls following the issuer default or acceleration of the covered bond payments as expected in DBRS’s Legal Criteria for Canadian Structured Finance. Should the indemnity be above a reasonable amount, DBRS will assess the impact of uncapped cash outflow at the time and take appropriate rating action.

RBC is Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets, with assets of $867.5 billion and $41.4 billion in common equity as at April 30, 2013. It is also the servicer of the mortgages in the Cover Pool.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

The principal methodology applicable is Rating Canadian Covered Bonds, which can be found on www.dbrs.com.

The sources of information used for this rating include loan-level data provided by RBC. DBRS considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating to be of satisfactory quality.

This rating concerns a newly-issued financial instrument. This is the first DBRS rating on this financial instrument.

For additional information on this rating, please see the Canadian Covered Bonds Linking Document.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union.

More details on the Cover Pool and the Programme are provided in the Monthly Canadian Covered Bond Report, which is available by clicking on the link under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.