DBRS Confirms and Upgrades Ratings on Private Driver 2014-1 UG (haftungsbeschränkt)

DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS) has today taken the following rating actions on the bonds issued by Private Driver 2014-1 UG (haftungsbeschränkt) (the Issuer):

-- Class A Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes upgraded to AA (sf) from A (high) (sf)

The rating actions on the Class A and Class B Notes are based on the following analytical considerations as described more fully below:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies and defaults, as of March 2016.
-- Updated default, recovery and loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.
-- Current available credit enhancement to the Class A and Class B Notes to cover the expected losses at the AAA (sf) and AA (sf) rating levels, respectively.

The Issuer is a securitisation of German auto loans originated and serviced by Volkswagen Bank, GmbH.

As of March 2016, two- to three-month arrears were at 0.17% and the 90+ delinquency ratio was at 0.18%. The current cumulative net loss ratio is low at 0.09%.

The transaction has a sequential/pro rata amortisation structure whereby all principal payments from the receivables pay down the Class A Notes until Class A overcollateralisation (OC) reaches its target level of 11.00%. As of the March 2016 payment date, Class A OC was at 11.00%. Class B OC was at 7.00%.

The transaction benefits from a Cash Reserve Fund, currently at the target level of EUR 10.00 million. The Cash Reserve Fund covers senior fees, Class A and Class B interest and principal losses on the final payment date.

The Bank of New York Mellon, Frankfurt Branch (BNY Mellon) is the account bank for the transaction. The DBRS private rating of BNY Mellon complies with the Minimum Institution Rating, given the rating assigned to the Class A Notes, as described in DBRS’s “Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions” methodology.

Notes:
All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable is the Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology, which can be found on www.dbrs.com at http://www.dbrs.com/about/methodologies. Other methodologies and criteria referenced in this transaction are listed at the end of this press release.

For a more detailed discussion of the sovereign risk impact on Structured Finance ratings, please refer to the DBRS commentary “The Effect of Sovereign Risk on Securitisations in the Euro Area” found at http://www.dbrs.com/industries/bucket/id/10036/name/commentaries.

DBRS has applied the principal methodology consistently and conducted a review of the transaction in accordance with the principal methodology. A review of the transaction’s legal documents was not conducted as the documents have remained unchanged since the most recent rating action.

The sources of information used for this rating include monthly investor reports provided by Volkswagen Bank GmbH.

DBRS does not rely upon third-party due diligence in order to conduct its analysis. DBRS was not supplied with third-party assessments; however, this did not impact the rating analysis.

DBRS considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating was of satisfactory quality.

DBRS does not audit the information it receives in connection with the rating process, and it does not and cannot independently verify that information in every instance.

The last rating action on this transaction took place on 29 April 2015, when DBRS confirmed the rating of AAA (sf) on the Class A Notes and confirmed the rating of A (high) (sf) on the Class B Notes. The lead responsibilities for this transaction have been transferred to Andrew Lynch.

Information regarding DBRS ratings, including definitions, policies and methodologies is available at www.dbrs.com.

To assess the impact of changing the transaction parameters on the rating, DBRS considered the following stress scenarios as compared with the parameters used to determine the rating (the base case):
-- DBRS expected a lifetime base-case probability of default (PD) and loss given default (LGD) for the pool based on a review of the current assets. Adverse changes to asset performance may cause stresses to base-case assumptions and therefore have a negative effect on credit ratings.
-- The base-case PD and LGD of the current pool of loans for the Issuer are 1.70% and 50.00%, respectively.
-- The Risk Sensitivity overview below illustrates the ratings expected if the PD and LGD increase by a certain percentage over the base-case assumption. For example, if the LGD increases by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (high) (sf), assuming no change in the PD. If the PD increases by 50%, the rating for the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to AA (high) (sf), assuming no change in the LGD. Furthermore, if both the PD and LGD increase by 50%, the rating of the Class A Notes would be expected to fall to A (high) (sf).

Class A Notes Risk Sensitivity:
-- 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AAA (sf).
-- 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD, expected rating of AAA (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (high) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (high) (sf).

Class B Notes Risk Sensitivity:
-- 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (sf).
-- 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of AA (low) (sf).
-- 25% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (high) (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD and 25% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (high) (sf).
-- 50% increase in PD and 50% increase in LGD, expected rating of A (low) (sf).

For further information on DBRS historic default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Administration in a central repository, see
http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml.

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

Initial Lead Analyst: Alexander Garrod
Initial Rating Date: 30 April 2014
Initial Rating Committee Chair: Chuck Weilamann

Lead Surveillance Analyst: Andrew Lynch
Rating Committee Chair: Diana Turner

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The rating methodologies and criteria used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at http://www.dbrs.com/about/methodologies.

-- Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions (February 2016)
-- Master European Structured Finance Surveillance Methodology (December 2015)
-- Operational Risk Assessment for European Structured Finance Servicers (December 2015)
-- Rating European Consumer and Commercial Asset-Backed Securitisations (October 2015)
-- Unified Interest Rate Model for European Securitisations (October 2015)

A description of how DBRS analyses structured finance transactions and how the methodologies are collectively applied can be found at http://www.dbrs.com/research/278375.